Julie Anne Robinson and Victoria Fea's Longboat Pictures marks the second scripted investment for Comcast-owned Sky's production arm in two weeks.
Sky Studios, the production arm of the Comcast-owned European pay TV giant Sky, has bolstered its drama investments for the second time in under a month, taking a minority stake in the new TV-focused production outfit Longboat Pictures.
Longboat was founded in 2019 by Los Angeles-based director-producer Julie Anne Robinson, a Shondaland grad who executive produced The Catch and has directed episodes of OrangeIis the New Black, The Good Place and Grey's Anatomy, and Victoria Fea, who spent eight years as senior drama commissioner for ITV, where she was behind series such as A Confession, Manhunt and Little Boy Blue.
The deal — which will enable Longboat to strengthen and expand its creative team and will see the company develop content for distribution on Sky's platforms and other networks — comes just two weeks after Sky Studios acquired a minority stake in upstart British scripted indie banner The Lighthouse, set up by former BBC Studios drama execs Hilary Salmon, Radford Neville and Nick Betts.
"Longboat Pictures has a wealth of expertise and experience in the drama field, both in the UK and U.S.," Sky Studios CEO Gary Davey said Wednesday in a statement. "We’re excited to be joining forces with them in this new partnership and bringing viewers world-class, engaging shows."
Added Longboat founders Robinson and Fea: "We are very happy to be collaborating with Sky Studios at such an exciting time in their development. The world needs entertaining stories more than ever at the moment, and we are looking forward to creating them in our new partnership."
