‘Woman Of The Hour Producer BoulderLight Pictures Inks Deal With A+E Studios, Taps Ben Purdy As TV President

EXCLUSIVE: BoulderLight Pictures, one of the production companies behind the #1 movie on Netflix right now, Woman Of the Hour, has signed a first-look deal with A+E Studios, the studio behind the #1 series on Netflix at the moment, Lincoln Lawyer.

The pact, which marks indie genre film player BoulderLight Pictures’ foray into TV, is with A+E Studios and co-producing partner Range Studios through A+E Studios parent A+E Networks’ investment in Range Studios’ parent Range Media Partners, which represents BoulderLight. In conjunction with the first-look deal, BoulderLight has appointed Ben Purdy as President of Television.

BoulderLight Pictures, led by J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, made its debut with horror film Contracted for IFC Midnight. Contracted: Phase II, Dismissed, Bad Match, Dementia, Pledge, The Vigil, Becky, the Indie Spirit-nominated Wild Indian, Gone in the Night, and Becky 2: The Wrath of Becky followed in quick succession. The company’s Barbarian opened at #1 at the domestic box office in 2022.

Following Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut Woman of the Hour, which has been #1 on Netflix since its Oct. 11 debut, BoulderLight, which has a first-look film deal with New Line, has Companion coming up for Warner Bros; Friendship, which A24 acquired at TIFF; as well as a re-team with Barbarian director Zach Cregger for Weapons at New Line.

‘We couldn’t be more excited to team up with BoulderLight Pictures. J.D. and Raphael have consistently pushed creative boundaries in the film world, delivering bold and innovative storytelling,” said Tana Nugent Jamieson, EVP of Creative Affairs & Co-Head at A+E Studios, and Heather Kadin, President of Scripted Television at Range Studios. “Now, we’re thrilled to bring that same groundbreaking vision to television with them and Ben. Their ability to attract and nurture out-of-the-box talent is exactly what the television landscape needs.”

Purdy was previously co-head of television development and production for Ace Entertainment (Netflix’s XO, Kitty, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before) and a development executive at Brillstein Creative Partners.