FremantleMedia Launches U.K. Comedy Label

FremantleMedia has launched a new U.K. production label, Hare and Tortoise, led by Jon Rolph and Claire Nosworthy.

Rolph will be serving as managing director and Nosworthy as creative director. The new label will bring together new and established writers, performers, producers and directors in “surprising new creative partnerships,” creating returnable series for both linear broadcasters and new global platforms.

Hare and Tortoise replaces FremantleMediaUK’s scripted comedy label Retort. The new label is actively investing in rights, formats and scripts. Developments include a project that joins writer Will Smith (Veep, Damned) and visualist Richard Littler to adapt Littler’s cult blog Welcome to Scarfolk. Additionally, performer Jessica Thom, also known as Touretteshero, partners with writer Georgia Pritchett (Veep, The Thick of It) and regular Touretteshero collaborator Matthew Pountney to weave a scripted series out of Jess’s world. Helmets is a new comedy co-created by former policeman Dan Clark-Neal (This Morning, Celebrity Big Brother) and the comedy writing team Claire Downes, Stuart Lane and Ian Jarvis (In The Long Run, The Job Lot, Carters Get Rich). The Dark Room is an interactive comedy “anti-game show” created by comedian John Robertson.