Red Arrow Studios Extends Contract for ‘Vienna Blood’ Producer After Sale Called Off

By Tim Dams

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Transatlantic production group Red Arrow Studios has agreed a multi-year contract extension with Hilary Bevan Jones, founder and managing director of Endor Productions, the U.K.-based scripted producer of “Vienna Blood” and “Deep State.”

Bevan Jones’s Endor Productions became part of German broadcast giant ProSiebenSat.1’s production subsidiary Red Arrow Studios in 2012.

The deal follows a busy spell for Endor. Its acclaimed recent ORF and ZDF series “Vienna Blood” was acquired by the BBC and PBS, while it has made two seasons of Matthew Parkhill’s “Deep State”  for Fox Networks Group. Coming up is new BBC One drama “But When We Dance,” written by Paul Mayhew-Archer.

Last month, ProSiebenSat.1 canceled a proposed sale of Red Arrow Studios — which comprises 20 production companies including Kinetic Content, the producer behind Netflix hit “Love is Bliind” — amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Over her career, Bevan Jones has worked on dramas including: “Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot” with Dustin Hoffman, Dame Judi Dench and James Corden for BBC One; “That Day We Sang,” written and directed by Victoria Wood for BBC Two; Paul Abbott ‘s “State of Play” for BBC One; and the Emmy Award-winning HBO film “The Girl in the Café,” written by Richard Curtis.

In 2006, Bevan Jones was made chair of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), the first woman in its then 60-year history to hold the position.

James Baker, president and co-CEO of Red Arrow Studios, said: “Hilary is quite simply one of the most respected and talented producers working in British television, and we are thrilled that she has decided to stay with Endor and Red Arrow Studios. Together with her impressive team, Endor is well placed for its next exciting phase of growth.”

Bevan Jones added: “I am delighted to be staying with Red Arrow and the company I founded, and continuing to work with such a fantastic in-house team”.

Alongside Bevan Jones, Endor’s team includes creative director Sara Johnson, who joined from Fox Networks Group, Europe & Africa earlier this year; finance director Ian McBain; production manager Samantha White; head of production Eamon Fitzpatrick; producer Jez Swimer; development executive Charlie Niel and executive assistant Kyra Williams.