Fulwell 73, a key backer of Sunderland’s half-billion pound Crown Works Studios development, and the producer of the festive smash Gavin and Stacey, has cut its UK formats team following a merger with US entertainment giant The SpringHill Company.
The UK indie has struck a 50/50 transatlantic merger with SpringHill, the entertainment business founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter. Fulwell 73 is lso behind shows including James Corden’s former CBS show The Late Late Show, Netflix’s Sunderland ’Til I Die, and Hulu’s The Kardashians.
Creative directors Rachel Arnold and Jon Green are understood to be departing Fulwell as a result of the closure.
A Fulwell 73 spokesperson said: “When we announced our forthcoming merger with The SpringHill Company we stated that our intention was to focus on a consolidated, transatlantic development team that reflects the changing needs of the global media landscape.
“As part of that evolution, we have jointly agreed with the UK format team to close this standalone department. Rachel, Jon and their team are exceptionally talented and we’ve loved working with them.
“They are leaving behind a number of prime-time projects and we are already in talks about potential future collaborations.”
Arnold and Green joined the indie in February last year to push for growth in international territories and build on opportunities with UK broadcasters. The pair previously co-founded Banijay (then Endemol Shine Group) label Definitely before being handed creative leadership of stablemate RDF and its sub-labels Fizz and Little Wonder.
Arnold previously exec produced I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here and Hell’s Kitchen, before becoming Whizz Kid’s creative director to co-create entertainment formats including Let’s Dance for Comic Relief.
Green has exec produced Channel 4’s Gemma Collins: Self Harm & Me, the Million Pound… franchise for Channel 5 and 999: Emergency Call Out for 5Star. He is also the former head of development at Spun Gold.
