Freemantle buys scripted arm of Australian producer Essential
Details
Rebecca Hawkes
| 12 September 2017

Independent producer Essential Media and Entertainment has sold its scripted division to Fremantle Media Australia for an undisclosed amount.

The division has been responsible for dramas such as Rake, Doctor Doctor, The Principal, Jake Irish, and soon to be aired series The Sunshine Kings.

Essential Media and Entertainment will continue to produce high-end factual and lifestyle content following the deal, which sees company director and head of the scripted division Ian Collie leave to establish a new company. His new venture, Easy Tiger Productions, will be majority owned by FremantleMedia.

Essential Media and Entertainment’s CEO Chris Hilton (pictured) said: “We are extremely proud of the exceptional drama IP Essential Media has created and financed over the years and are pleased to see it find the additional resources it needs to prosper under FremantleMedia. We wish Ian Collie the very best in the new venture.”

The company’s current Australian unscripted production slate includes a second season of Body Hack with Todd Sampson (for Network Ten), Uncharted with Sam Neill (for Foxtel and Prime NZ) and The Living Universe (for ABC, Arte France, Curiosity Stream and UKTV). In addition, season five of Gourmet Farmer is currently being broadcast on SBS.