EXCLUSIVE: Here’s one for the history buffs. The newly-formed Radar Studios is teaming with British broadcaster and historian Tony Robinson for a suite of content.
Tony Robinson Rewrites History will launch as a YouTube channel later this year, with an initial 12 half-hour episodes. Meanwhile, Radar Studios will debut a six-part, hour-long TV series to international buyers at MIPCOM Cannes next month.
The series will see popular British personality Robinson, who is known for his role in sitcom Blackadder, revisiting defining events of the past, from ancient history through to the modern era, and explore how things might have gone differently if a single pivotal moment had gone differently. The events will range from the Spanish Armada to the advent of Covid-19.
Robinson has worked with Radar Studios parent WTFN Group in Australia for more than 15 years on TV shows such as Tony Robinson’s Time Walks and Tony Robinson’s Tour of Duty, so today’s news extends that pact.
As we revealed last week, Radar Studios came into being when WTFN merged its digital arm Radar with its distribution business Fred Media. It aims to bring content creation, channel management and international distribution together under one roof, and already operates Robinson’s dedicated history channel Time Travels on YouTube, where it has more than 40,000 subscribers.
The new pact will see a new pipeline on original shows and digital content from Robinson roll out.
“I’ve known the team at WTFN for more than 15 years and we’ve made some terrific television together, so the opportunity to do something genuinely new with Radar Studios was irresistible,” said Robinson in a statement to Deadline.
“History is about the way things were, isn’t it? It’s written in stone and it couldn’t have happened any other way. Well, no. It’s actually full of tiny moments where everything hung in the balance. One different decision, one mistake, even a gust of wind and you have to rewrite history.
“And the great thing about this partnership is that we’re no longer thinking about history as something that has to fit into one particular television slot. We can tell stories in different ways, for different audiences and across different platforms. There is an enormous amount to explore and I’m hoping these first six hours are just the beginning.”
Radar Studios’ Chief Commercial Officer, Derek Dyson, added: “There could hardly be a better partner than Tony to lead off our originals strategy. He is one of the most recognisable and trusted faces in popular history, with an extraordinary ability to make the past entertaining, accessible and relevant to audiences around the world.
“Significantly, Tony Robinson Rewrites History demonstrates exactly why we created Radar Studios. Instead of making a series and then deciding where it might live, we are developing IP from the outset with multiple audiences, platforms and distribution opportunities in mind. We are creating original content for a dedicated, managed YouTube channel; developing additional digital opportunities around that content; and producing a standalone six-part television series for international buyers.
“One creative partnership and one piece of IP can therefore generate a whole ecosystem of content and commercial opportunities. By bringing content creation, channel management and international distribution together within Radar Studios, we can manage that entire journey ourselves.”
