MGM Television Strikes First-Look Deal With Production and Management Outfit 42

By Stewart Clarke

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – MGM’s TV division has inked a first-look deal with production and management outfit 42. The two parties will jointly develop drama projects aimed at the U.S. market.

London- and LA-based will work with on original ideas as well as mining the historic studio’s library for IP that can be reworked for TV and on-demand platforms.

42’s TV projects include an adaptation of “Watership Down” for the BBC and Netflix, and the drama “Traitors” for Channel 4 and Netflix. It is currently in production on Julian Fellowes’ drama on the history of soccer, “The English Game.” MGM’s current slate includes the lauded TV adaptation of “The Handmaid’s Tale” for Hulu, and MGM movie-inspired series “Fargo” for FX and “Get Shorty” for Epix.

“Our partnership with the dynamic team of managers and producers who form 42 will allow us to collaborate with global top-tier talent who can continue our long legacy of creating distinctive, quality series across the globe,” said MGM’s president of TV production and development Steve Stark.

MGM also recently struck first-look deals with Renee Zellweger and Carmella Casinelli’s The Big Picture Co., Akiva Goldsmith’s Weed Road Pictures, and Escape Artists, which makes Epix series “Perpetual Grace LTD.”

Josh Varney and Ben Pugh, partners at 42, said that “MGM has quickly become a formidable producer of high-quality, creatively fulfilling television content.” The pair added: “As we continue to expand our footprint and infrastructure in the U.S, we remain committed to working with the best talent and telling the best stories. Steve and his world-class team, and MGM’s vast library, affords us endless opportunities to do just that.”