All3Media is adding another drama label to its roster with the launch of Lupin and Hijack creator George Kay’s Observatory Pictures.
The indie will co-produce all of its projects with New Pictures, with Kay working closely with that label’s chief executive Willow Grylls and executive producer Matt Sandford.
Up to now, Kay has co-produced his dramas through Idiotlamp Productions, which he co-runs with director and regular collaborator Jim Field-Smith.
Idiotlamp will remain attached to existing IP but all new projects will be developed by Observatory, including series two of Apple TV's Hijack.
Kay, who also created Netflix anthology series Criminal and New Pictures’ Bafta-winning ITV drama The Long Shadow, said Observatory will develop “ambitious, commercially-successful high-end” series for domestic and international networks and streamers.
Grylls said of Kay: “As a screenwriter, he has an acute gift for character and storytelling, as a showrunner, an incredible ability and ambition to produce internationally defining shows that resonate with a global audience.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be forming this unique and innovative partnership with him and All3. Backing new and established creative talent is at the heart of everything we do at New Pictures.”
Kay’s previous credits include BBC2’s Stag and The Hour, BBC3’s Killing Eve, Channel 4’s My Mad Fat Diary and Sky’s The Tunnel. Outside of drama, he co-created Gareth Malone’s BBC2 series The Choir.
