Fremantle Strikes Deal With ‘I Am Ruth’ Producer Me+You Productions

Fremantle has struck a first-look and development deal with I Am Ruth and Alice & Jack producer Me+You Productions, which is co-run by former BAFTA chair Krishnendu Majumdar.

The three-year non-exclusive deal will see Fremantle become the primary home of all Me+You’s TV projects, working closely with both Fremantle’s global drama division and distribution team.

Founded by Majumdar and Richard Yee, the London-based indie is best known for Channel 4’s BAFTA-winning anthology series I Am Ruth, which has starred the likes of Kate Winslet, Suranne Jones and Letitia Wright. Winslet won a BAFTA for her portrayal of a mother witnessing her teenage daughter retreating into herself, played alongside her real-life daughter Mia Threapleton.

Other Me + You productions include Channel 4’s upcoming Andrea Riseborough-starrer Alice & Jack, which has sold to PBS Masterpiece in the U.S., and Elliot Page movie Close to You. Fremantle is already distributing Alice & Jack. 

“Since starting Me+You Productions, we’ve prided ourselves on working with the most exciting on and off-screen talent to bring new stories and voices to the screens with the highest cinematic values,” said Majumdar, who stepped down as BAFTA chair last year at the end of his term. “We loved working with the team at Fremantle on the upcoming Alice & Jack drama series and are now thrilled about making the partnership official.”

Fremantle Global Drama CEO Christian Vesper added that Majumdar and Yee “fit the bill with the award-winning work they’ve been doing.”

Fremantle has struck a number of indie and talent deals of late including with All Quiet on the Western Front‘s Edward Berger and his label Nine Hours, Angelina Jolie, and Johan Renck and Michael Parets’ recently launched label Sinestra.

The partnership with Me+You was introduced to Fremantle by Lorenzo De Maio at De Maio Entertainment, with the deal being brokered by Jill Kellie on behalf of Fremantle, and Richard Lever for Lee+Thompson acting on behalf of Me+You. Fremantle’s SVP of Scripted Content Rebecca Dundon, and Global Drama’s Head of Creative Hilary Martin, will be overseeing the venture and leading on creative and commercial direction for Fremantle. De Maio Entertainment will be a strategic advisor for Me+You and Fremantle, to optimise strategy and maximise each project’s impact and success.