Broadcast Now, Manori Ravindran
9th May 2018
Emporium Productions and Spun Gold have struck commissions around this month’s royal wedding for US cable channels Lifetime and Nat Geo.
WW2 Treasure Hunters indie Emporium is producing one-off doc Harry and Meghan: Royal Rebels for Lifetime, which will roll out the programme globally across its channels, including the UK.
The programme was brokered by indie distributor and co-production broker Silverlining, which developed the programme with Emporium managing director Emma Read prior to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s December 2017 engagement, and pitched it to broadcasters.
Harry and Meghan: Royal Rebels counts down through the most shocking rules of British royal weddings and reveals which traditions the couple is updating and disregarding.
From royal guest lists to public displays of affection and dress regulations, the special will include interviews from royal experts, as well as insider stories from close friends and former palace staff.
Lifetime is to debut the hour-long special immediately after the premiere of its original film Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance on 13 May.
Silverlining and Emporium previously worked together on Nepal Quake: Terror on Everest for Smithsonian and Channel 4.
Silverlining managing director Bethan Corney said: “Timing was a crucial factor. From our regular dialogues with global buyers and commissioners, we knew there was an appetite for content around a potential royal wedding and so we hand-picked a producer that we knew could conceive a strong and sellable idea and deliver on it.
“Silverlining’s unique position as a broker, run by ex-channel commissioners, means we can be on the front-foot, driving an origination around a big global event, rather than waiting for one to be commissioned.”
Elsewhere, the royal wedding gold rush continues for Spun Gold, which has been commissioned to make two specials for Nat Geo.
Post-wedding doc Operation Royal Wedding will reveal the various key players involved in pulling off the event. Individuals covered in the special, which airs on 23 May, include event organiser and pageant master Dominic Reid, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and organiser of the Royal Windsor Horse Show Simon Brooks Ward.
The executive producers include Nick Bullen and Gary Broadhurst for Spun Gold and Bernadette McDaid for Nat Geo.
Tomorrow night, Nat Geo is airing Spun Gold’s hour-long special Prince Harry’s Story: Four Royal Weddings, which charts the important weddings in the prince’s life.