Former Discovery Networks executives Mark Procter and Steve Jones have formed a new production company Big Little Fish.
Based in London, the indie will specialise in the development and production of factual entertainment formats, popular factual features and documentary series. The company has launched with a portfolio of ideas including ‘Hitler’s Women: The Forgotten Nazis’ (6 x 60’) and has acquired factual TV rights to produce a brand new true crime documentary mini-series ‘Breaking Dad’ (w/t) (3 x 60’).
‘Hitler’s Women: The Forgotten Nazis’ will utilise untapped archive and a new crop of historians and experts including James Wyllie, author of recently published ‘Nazi Wives’ (The History Press UK / St Martin’s Press US) to analyse the women behind the infamous men at the head of the Third Reich. Wyllie will act as consultant and on screen contributor for the series.
The second project on the company’s new development slate, ‘Breaking Dad’ (w/t) (3 x 60’), recounts the true story of Richard Lubbock, who went from mild-mannered family-man to drug kingpin during the early noughties. Dubbed ‘the UK’s Walter White’, police claimed he was Britain’s biggest ever crystal meth dealer at the time of his arrest in 2009. Big Little Fish has secured the exclusive story rights to produce a factual mini-series on the tale via access to Richard and his son James, who has penned the acclaimed biography of the same name.
The company is currently in discussions with networks and distributors on the projects.
In addition to developing projects in the crime and history genres, the company’s other projects span genres including body transformation, engineering and motoring series.
Mark Procter was formerly an Executive Producer and Commissioning Editor at Discovery Networks from 2010 to 2017, where he brokered deals for international productions for formats including ‘Say Yes to the Dress’, ‘The Great Bake Off’, ‘Don’t Tell the Bride’ and ‘Undressed’ and developed original series for TLC such as ‘Separated at Birth’ and ‘Extreme Beauty Disasters’. His recent credits include creating the format for successful returning series ‘Salvage Hunters: The Restorers’ and executive producer of forthcoming farming doc series ‘Born Mucky’, both for Discovery Quest.
Steve Jones was most recently Executive Producer of Factual Entertainment at Discovery Networks, where he worked across a varied slate of popular factual and factual entertainment series for TLC, Investigation Discovery and Quest Red, including ‘Killing Michael Jackson’, ‘My Extraordinary Pregnancy’, ‘Faking It: ‘Tears of a Crime’, ‘Britain’s Deadliest Kids’, ‘Curvy Brides Boutique’ and ‘Katie Price: My Crazy Life’. He was previously a Commissioning Editor at LIVINGtv and Sky1 before spending 6 years in a senior role at Australia’s biggest locally-owned production company CJZ.
Big Little Fish are currently in early stage discussions with potential investors as they look to scale the business and launch further titles on the development slate ahead of Realscreen in January.
Mark Procter, co-founder of Big Little Fish, said: “Casting our net far and wide we are looking to work with broadcasters and platforms around the world. Launching Big Little Fish with an ever-expanding slate of high quality, linear, non-linear and digital content we are driven to develop returnable factual content in a variety of genres for UK and international audiences alike.”
Steve Jones, co-founder of Big Little Fish, said: “Over the past few months we’ve been busy talking to distributors and broadcasters, building a solid, well-considered raft of exciting IP to sit alongside ‘Breaking Dad’ and ‘Hitler’s Women: The Forgotten Nazis’. We feel that our combined international and creative experience has equipped us to develop and produce compelling factual series that we’re confident will resonate strongly with audiences worldwide. We’re looking forward to revealing more of it in the coming months.”
Staff Reporter
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