Warp strikes ITVS first-look deal

The agreement will see the indie, a spin-off of the Sheffield-based independent record label, expand its TV development activity and produce more high-end drama for the UK and the international market.

ITV Studios Global Entertainment will subsequently distribute these scripted series internationally.

Warp Films, which produced This Is England ’86 and This Is England ’88, is currently working on forthcoming Channel 4 drama Southcliffe and Sky Atlantic and Canal+ co-production The Panthers.

The deal was struck by Warp’s head of business development and commercial affairs Alex Marshall and ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s director of global acquisitions and coproductions Ruth Clarke.

Clarke said: “Warp’s reputation for edgy, thought-provoking films that command an almost cult following was very attractive to us. Their productions offer an alternative point of view to the mainstream and we think this approach, translated to television, will have a very clear place in the international market.”

Warp’s chief executive Mark Herbert added: “We wanted to find the right partner to help us create truly international television.

“Our ethos has always been to support talent in creating authored work and as we got to know Maria and the team at ITVS GE, we could see that they understood the importance of this to Warp and would be well positioned to find the right international homes for our shows.”