Shed Productions

Infobox Company
company_name = Shed Productions
company_logo =
company_type = Independent
foundation = London, 1998
location = London (UK)
key_people = Eileen Gallagher
Brian Park
Maureen Chadwick
Ann McManus
Liz Lake
Ros Taylor
Lee Mason
Spencer Campbell
industry = TV Production
products = "Hope Springs"
"Waterloo Road"
"Rock Rivals"
"Catwalk Dogs"
"Bad Girls"
'
"Footballers' Wives"
'
"Footballers' Wives TV"
"The Fugitives"
"Bombshell"
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
parent = Shed Media Group
homepage = http://www.shedproductions.com
footnotes =

Shed Productions, part of the Shed Media Group, is an independent UK television production company, specialising in contemporary, original drama programming and content. It was established in 1998 by Eileen Gallagher, Brian Park, Ann McManus and Maureen Chadwick, who previously worked together at Granada Television.

Company History

Shed’s first major production, the hit drama "Bad Girls" was commissioned by ITV in the summer of 1998 and proved to be a huge success with viewers, becoming one of the UK’s most consistently successful dramas during its eight series run.

In 2000, following the success of "Bad Girls", Shed won a major new commission for primetime ITV, "Footballers' Wives". During the five series it was on air, "Footballers’ Wives" became probably the most talked-about UK drama of recent times and spawned the popular ITV2 spin-off "", and factual entertainment series "Footballers' Wives TV" which aired on ITV2 in 2005.

2005 also saw Shed’s first foray into the realms of children’s television when seven-part drama "The Fugitives" was commissioned by CiTV. Starring Maureen Lipman, Jack Ellis and Melanie Hill, the show centred on two runaway teenagers and tackled head-on the serious subject of human cloning.

In 2006, Shed received its first commission from BBC One, "Waterloo Road", a drama series about a failing comprehensive school in Rochdale. After proving to be a huge hit with viewers, especially the valuable 16-24 year old audience, "Waterloo Road" was immediately re-commissioned by the BBC for a second series. Three series of "Waterloo Road" have so far been aired and a fourth series is currently in production.

One-off drama "Catwalk Dogs" – written by "Men Behaving Badly" creator Simon Nye and starring Kris Marshall and Georgia MacKenzie – aired on ITV1 in 2007 and introduced viewers to the world of dog shows. This was followed in 2008 by "Rock Rivals", another ITV commission that starred Michelle Collins and Sean Gallagher as Karina and Mal Faith – the bickering judges on a phenomenally successful TV talent show.

In 2008, BBC One commissioned "Hope Springs", a new eight-part drama from Shed Productions through BBC Scotland. The show, which will star Annette Crosbie and Alex Kingston [" [http://www.shedproductions.com/news/2008/30-06-08.html Alex Kingston & Annette Crosbie To Star in BBC One's New Scottish Drama] ", "Official Shed Productions site".] , is about four female ex-cons who find themselves in hiding in a remote Scottish village called Hope Springs after their plans to start a new life in Barbados go awry. Filming has begun in summer 2008 in the Lowland village of Wanlockhead, and the show will air on BBC One in 2009.

Following on from "Hope Springs" will be a drama series set around the lives and loves of Notting Hill Tories. A title for the series is yet to be decided on. [" [http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/sos-review/-Talent-by-the-shedload.3738625.jp Talent by the shedload ] ", "Scotland on Sunday".]

Programming

Forthcoming Productions

The following is a list of upcoming programmes to be produced by Shed:

US Remakes

"Bad Girls"

Shed Productions have been involved in talks since as early as 2002 regarding a US version of "Bad Girls". In 2006 it was announced that FX would be bringing an American version of "Bad Girls" to US screens but Shed subsequently vetoed FX’s original pilot script after the show was given a “really gritty and unpleasant” feel like that of "Oz". [" [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/may/27/independentproductioncompanies.television?gusrc=rss&feed=media Bad Girls: HBO locks in deal for US version of ITV prison drama ] ", "MediaGuardian.co.uk".]

In 2008, Eileen Gallagher, CEO of Shed’s parent company Shed Media, announced that HBO bought the rights to the show from FX. HBO’s version of "Bad Girls" is being developed with creative input from "Six Feet Under" writer Alan Ball, and will be written by Nancy Oliver and Raelle Tucker. According to Gallagher, the HBO team will be sticking very closely to the characters and story lines from the original show. [" [http://www.afterellen.com/people/2008/6/eileengallagher Interview With Eileen Gallagher ] ", "AfterEllen.com".]

"Football Wives"

After "Footballers' Wives" proved such a hit with US viewers when it was broadcast on BBC America, US network ABC commissioned a pilot for an American version of the show, named "Football Wives". Although based on the UK original and using similar plots, the pilot featured American football rather than Association football, and a completely new cast, including Lucy Lawless, Gabrielle Union, Eddie Cibrian, Kiele Sanchez, and James Van Der Beek.

The pilot was not picked up due to budget reasons, however a number of websites have speculated that "Football Wives" was shelved due to potential conflicts with the National Football League. [" [http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/a46602/abc-drops-us-footballers-wives.html ABC drops US ‘Footballers’ Wives’ ] ", "Digital Spy".]

"Bad Girls - The Musical"

"" is an original British musical that was developed by the creators of the television series, Maureen Chadwick and Ann McManus, in collaboration with composer and lyricist Kath Gotts, and director Maggie Norris.

"Bad Girls – The Musical" takes as its starting point the original core characters from the first series of "Bad Girls" on TV, and loosely follows the storyline of the first series, most notably, the suicide of Rachel Hicks and the relationship between Wing Governor Helen Stewart and inmate Nikki Wade.

Following a successful workshop production in November 2004 at the New Players Theatre, London, the musical went on to premiere at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds in 2006. The subsequent West End production began previews at the Garrick Theatre in August 2007 and officially opened in September 2007. Despite positive reviews, the musical closed less than two months later due to poor ticket sales, with the final performance staged on 17 November 2007.

Awards

Waterloo Road

TV Quick Awards – Nominated Best New Drama 2008

TV Quick Awards – Nominated Most Popular Actress (Denise Welch) 2008

TV Quick Awards – Winner Best New Drama 2006

TV Quick Awards – Winner Most Popular Actress (Jill Halfpenny) 2007

Bad Girls

National Television Awards – Winner Best Drama 2000, 2001

TV Quick Awards – Winner Most Popular Drama 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003

Inside Soap Awards – Winner Best Drama 2003, 2005

Footballers' Wives

TV Quick Awards – Winner Most Popular Drama 2005

TV Quick Awards – Winner Most Popular Actress (Zöe Lucker) 2004

References

External links

* [http://www.shedproductions.com Official Shed Productions site]
* [http://www.shed-media.com Official Shed Media site]
* [http://shed-insider.net/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page Unofficial Shed Productions Wiki]
* [http://www.waterlooroad.co.uk Official "Waterloo Road" site]
* [http://www.itv.com/rockrivals Official "Rock Rivals" site]
* [http://www.badgirls.co.uk Official "Bad Girls" site]
* [http://www.footballerswives.tv Official "Footballers' Wives" site]
* [http://www.badgirlsthemusical.com Official "Bad Girls - The Musical" site]
* [http://www.thefugitives.uk.com Official "The Fugitives" site]