Youngest Media Revived As U.S. Production Company After Ed October Acquires IP Of Shuttered UK Producer Behind NBC’s ‘Small Fortune’
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
EXCLUSIVE: British production company Youngest Media, which was behind series including NBC’s Small Fortune and MTV’s Game of Clones, is being revived as a U.S. production company.
The surprising move comes after Ed October, who has exec produced series including The Wanda Sykes Show and worked at the Game Show Network, acquired the intellectual property assets of the company, which was liquidated earlier this year.
More from Deadline
The deal, which has led to the creation of the Youngest Media Group in the U.S., will see October shop these formats, which also includes Channel 4 gameshow Moneybags, to broadcasters and streamers around the world.
It comes after Youngest Media, which was founded in 2016 by former Endemol Shine executives Lucas Church and David Flynn, and counted Elisabeth Murdoch among its backers until 2021, was closed down earlier this year as part of a “voluntary” liquidation.
At the time, Flynn and Church said that the pandemic’s impact on cashflow and the “creative pipeline” hit them in 2022, forcing them to close down.
October, who has worked with the likes of Ryan Seacrest and Randy Jackson and exec produced Bands Reunited and Tommy Lee Goes to College, will now head up a new development and production team, based in LA.
“I’m excited to build upon this incredible foundation of internationally successful IP,” October said. “These formats are too fun to ignore.”
The deal includes the rights to Small Fortune, which began on UK’s ITV before being remade by NBC, Game of Clones, a dating show that started on Channel 4’s E4 before being adapted by MTV in the U.S., and Moneybags, which was hosted by Craig Charles and was nominated for a BAFTA. October plans to refresh the formats for new markets.
It also features collaborations including Surprize Fund, from John de Mol’s Talpa Concepts, and The Search, from Keshet International.
Youngest, which had previously signed a first-look distribution deal with BBC Studios in 2021 and, in 2019, partnered with French producer Thierry Lachkar to launch a division in France, included investors such as Murdoch, who stepped away as a shareholder in November 2021.
Best of Deadline
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
