Fremantle has taken a majority stake in 72 Films, the factual indie behind BBC2’s The Elon Musk Show and Netlix’s Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story.
In a statement, co-founders David Glover and Mark Raphael said the deal would enable 72 Films to access Fremantle’s extensive international infrastructure and expertise – while offering the indie “complete creative freedom”.
The deal builds on a collaboration on The Elon Musk Show, which Fremantle sold worldwide.
Fremantle UK chief executive Simon Andrae said 72 Films had “developed an unrivalled reputation for telling the world’s most fascinating stories with real freshness and flair.”
Founded in 2016, 72 Films is best known for its archive-rich and access-driven documentaries about institutions and high-profile international figures.
Its first commission was Channel 4 four-parter Trump: An American Dream and it later returned to the subject of the former US president in BBC2’s 2020 series The Trump Show.
Subsequent shows include Inside North Korea’s Dynasty and the Emmy-winning 9/11: One Day in America for National Geographic, C4’s Moon Landing Live and Spice Girls: How Girl Power Changed Britain, Amazon football strand All or Nothing and BBC2’s Rise of the Nazis and The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty.
It is currently developing a John Lennon documentary for Apple TV+ and a four-part C4 series on Boris Johnson.
Fremantle has been on an acquisition spree recently as it seeks to hit a £2.5bn annual revenue target by 2025.
It now owns The Salisbury Poisoning indie Dancing Ledge Productions and Normal People producer Element Pictures and Label1, the indie behind BBC1’s Hospital.
