Tag: Schnoobert Productions

Johnny Vegas and Sian Gibson to return for new Murder, They Hope special co-produced by Schnoobert Productions

Posted on 23 July 202423 July 2024 by North East Screen

UKTV have today (23rd of July) announced a new Murder, They Hope special entitled Apocalypse Slough, to be produced by Newcastle-based Schnoobert Productions alongside Tiger Aspect. The special will air on Gold this Autumn and follows the success of Christmas special, Blood Actually.

Johnny Vegas and Sian Gibson return asTerry and Gemma Bremmeralongside Sarah Hadland as Gemma’s wannabe influencer sister, Monica. The Bremmers were last seen in the Christmas special Blood Actually, which launched to 863K* viewers in December and starred Jane Horrocks, Martin Kemp, Robert Webb, Rose Ayling-Ellis and Sherrie Hewson.

Writer, creator, and executive producer, Jason Cook, said: “It’s so good to be back with Gemma and Terry, and this time Monica’s tagging along to increase the chaos! What an amazing cast we managed to get for this one, with some really fantastic performances. I can’t wait for everyone to see.”

Apocalypse Slough sees Gemma achieve her dreams of becoming an official, ball busting, kick ass investigator at the Serious Crimes Agency (SCA), whilst Terry is denied the dream thanks to his colourful criminal history. With this new strain on their relationship, they’re thrown in headfirst to crack a curious double murder at a local rugby club – whose members seem to have dark and disturbing secrets of their own. As Gemma leads them closer into the complex case, questions begin to arise about their partnership and the mysteries they uncover. If Gemma doesn’t pick up the pace, it could be game over for everyone; her and Terry included!

The standalone specialhas been commissioned for UKTV by Sarah Asante, commissioning editor for scripted comedy and ordered by Gerald Casey, channel director for Gold and Hilary Rosen, director of commissioning.

Sarah Asante said: “Following the success of Blood Actually, I am thrilled to bring back Sian, Johnny, and Sarah for yet another uproarious one-off instalment alongside the additional fresh and exceptional ensemble cast. Brace yourself, as Apocalypse Slough is set to take us on another intriguing romp, full of laughs and surprises delivered by Jason Cook and the Tiger Aspect team.”

Gerald Casey added: “I’m incredibly overwhelmed by the positive response viewers have shown for Blood Actually, allowing us to continue to deliver more killer comedy with an outstanding line-up of talent. I can promise that this one-off special will bring a guarantee of laughter and a murderously good time!”

Apocalypse Slough will air on Gold this September. Catch up on the previous series of Murder, They Hope on Sky, Virgin and NOW.

Four North East indies selected for the BBC’s Small Indie Fund 2024

Posted on 17 January 20245 March 2024 by North East Screen

The BBC has announced that four North East based indies will be supported through their £1.5m Small Indie Fund, providing a huge boost for the screen sector in the region.

Candle & Bell (Gateshead), MCC Media (Sunderland), Schnoobert Productions (Newcastle) and Wander Films (Middlesbrough) will all receive strategic investment and regular mentoring from a BBC commissioning editor.

The £1.5m Fund was launched in 2020 to support the development of small independent production companies with turnovers below £10m across Drama, Entertainment, Comedy, Factual, Daytime, Children’s, and this year, BBC Film.

North East Screen’s Development Director, Lisa Laws, said:

“Once again, our North East based indies are making an impression with the BBC, and it’s great to see these four companies winning BBC Small Indie Fund Awards. This award will provide them with the time to build and strengthen relationships with commissioners and get a real understanding of BBC Daytime, Peak-time or Comedy audiences to hone their pitches and improve chances of winning commission opportunities.

“We are seeing the impact on the companies who were recipients last year: some have either moved into paid development or have won commissions thanks to the support they received.”

Jason Cook, Founder of Schnoobert Productions, based in Newcastle, said:

“We are over the moon to once again be selected for the BBC Small Indie Fund. Last year’s fund was so vital in our growth as a company and we are looking forward to working closely with BBC Comedy to keep this (slightly unsteady) rocket on trajectory together.”

Maria Caruana Galizia, Producer and Managing Director of Candle & Bell said:

“We’re very grateful to the BBC for their investment in Candle & Bell. It’s great to be working with Emma Lawson [BBC Comedy Commissioning Editor] and the BBC Comedy team for a second year in a row. Being recipients of the Small Indie Fund last year opened many doors for us, so we’re looking forward to building on the successes of 2023 which included two script commissions and an audio commission. We’re hoping for a bigger and better 2024!”

Lou Tonner, Co-Founder of Wander Films said:

“We are stoked to be selected for the BBC Small Indie Fund. This is an incredible opportunity for Wander to continue to grow. We’ve had a few cool wins over the past couple of months and it’s class to have the BBC on our side! We owe a huge thanks to the guys at North East Screen for providing us access to such a strong support network.”

Paul McCoy, CEO of MCC Media said:

“MCC Media are delighted to have been selected for the BBC Small Indie Fund. This helps to further cement our relationship with the BBC as we start working more on the factual side as well as kids and family. We hope that this opportunity will help our growth plans for 2024, and for what is gearing up to be a busy year for the North East production scene and beyond.”

North East Screen provides support to regional based independent production companies, as well as those looking to set up a North East base, through a variety of programmes to help them develop their products and services. For more information about these programmes, contact the Talent and Business Development: talent@northeastscreen.org

Two Newcastle based indies receive discretionary awards from Channel 4

Posted on 17 November 20235 March 2024 by North East Screen

Schnoobert Productions and Rock Paper Productions have been selected alongside four other indies in the nations and regions to receive a discretionary award as part of the Channel 4 Emerging Indie Fund.

They will gain access to 4Producers’ networking events, development workshops and funds to help towards the development of programme ideas. They will also benefit from regular access to Head of Indie Relations, Rebecca Thompson.

When announcing the recipients of the awards, Rebecca Thompson, Channel 4’s Head of Indie Relations, said: “This is a difficult time for indies, particularly small indies based in the Nations and Regions, so we are delighted to be able to support these companies to make them more robust and also help them shape their ideas to put them in the best possible position to win commissions.”

Discretionary awards were also made to: Blair Black (Belfast); Catman Media Ltd (Belfast); Lunar Lander (Sheffield); and Rock Films (Birmingham.

Launched in 2020, the Emerging Indie Fund has been specifically developed to help nurture up and coming indies, widen their networks and relationships and help them move on to the next level of their development. The fund’s focus is to support indies based in the Nations and Regions.