Posted in: BBC, Doctor Who, HBO, TV | Tagged: Bad Wolf, bbc, billie piper, doctor who, jane tranter, Julie Gardner, russell t davies, Sony Pictures Television, torchwood
Doctor Who Co-Producer Bad Wolf Being Eyed for Sony TV Buy: Report
Doctor Who co-producer Bad Wolf is said to be close to getting bought up by Sony Pictures Television. Bad Wolf is partnering with Russell T. Davies to co-produce series 14 of Doctor Who when the latter returns as showrunner. Bad Wolf is headed by Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner, the former BBC executives responsible for getting Davies to relaunch Doctor Who in 2005, then create Torchwood, which reignited the TV industry in Wales. They also produced Da Vinci's Demons. They headed the BBC's Drama Department until 2008, then moved to Los Angeles to head up BBC Worldwide Productions in Los Angeles. They left the BBC and launched Bad Wolf in 2015 as a boutique production house to produce high-end TV and film for the global television market. You could say Bad Wolf was born out of Doctor Who.
Bad Wolf, based in Wales and Los Angeles, has since racked up an impressive list of shows that include His Dark Materials, Industry, The Night Of, A Discovery of Witches, and Billie Piper's acclaimed comedy-drama I Hate Suzie. Los Angeles-based Bad Wolf America was formally set up as a U.S.-based sister company in 2019 and is run by Gardner. The company's first series commission is an adaptation of Laura Lippman's bestselling novel Lady in the Lake for Apple TV Plus, which will star Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong'o.
Variety quoted Broadcast's report that the deal is worth £60 million ($81.6 million) and that Sony would buy out the minority stakes held in Bad Wolf by Sky/HBO and Access Entertainment. Sony has declined to comment, of course.
Davies, who has since written and produced Cucumber, Years and Years and It's a Sin, is due to return to Doctor Who in 2023, taking over from current showrunner Chris Chibnall. The next season of the long-running show will be a co-production between BBC Studios and Bad Wolf. If the sale goes ahead, Sony will not only own Bad Wolf's shows but also claim their stake in Doctor Who.