Marsha Thomason Joins ‘The Bay’; Season 3 Greenlit
Lost and White Collar actress Marsha Thomason has joined the cast of ITV drama The Bay, as the British broadcaster confirmed it has renewed the drama for a third season. Thomason will join the detective drama as Morecambe Criminal Investigation Department’s new family liaison officer, DS Jenn Townsend, following Morven Christie’s decision to leave the show. DS Townsend is immediately thrown into the deep end when a body is found in the bay on her first day in the job. She must get under the skin of a grieving and complicated family if she has any chance of solving the premature death of an aspiring young boxer. Season 2 of the Tall Story Pictures show has been hitting audiences of up to 7 million for ITV. Written by Daragh Carville, with Furquan Akhtar co-writing Season 3, filming will begin on the new season in the spring, with Irma Inniss producing.
Argonon Launches Factual Producer Studio Leo
British production group Argonon has unveiled its new factual production brand, Studio Leo, to the world after Rich House, Poor House and Dinner Date producer Claire Collinson-Jones has been quietly working on launching the outfit for around a year. Collinson-Jones, a former Hat Trick Productions and Remarkable TV executive, will become Studio Leo’s chief creative officer and has secured the outfit’s first commission: A series for ViacomCBS network Channel 5, titled 101 Years of Tesco, which delves into the history of the iconic UK supermarket. Commenting on Collinson-Jones’ arrival, Argonon CEO James Burstall said: “She is a gifted exec and is drawing together the strong heritage of the Leopard brand with a fresh new attitude. She is also helping us further converge our group with inter-company co-productions across UK and US, genres and brands.”
BBC Studios Licenses ‘The 1% Club’ To France Télévisions
BBC Studios has licensed Magnum Media game show The 1% Club to French public broadcaster France Télévisions — the first international deal for the format. The show, which is being made for ITV in the UK with comedian Lee Mack hosting, is an entertaining and funny format that tests the nation’s intelligence, based on a scientific survey. “A great gameshow is one that viewers can play along with at home, and the beauty of this format is that an eight-year-old has as much chance as an 80 year old so it is fun for the whole family. France Television have seen the potential of the format at an early stage and I’m confident this will pave the way for further agreements internationally in the coming months,” said Jacob DeBoer, executive vice president for international production and formats at BBC Studios.