Hat Trick launches BBC, Showtime copro Episodes

UK indie Hat Trick Productions is launching a coproduction between the BBC and US cable network Showtime starring Friends‘ Matt LeBlanc.

The producer is also moving into the world of factual entertainment with a cooking-meets-dating format for ITV.

It is launching Episodes, which is a six part comedy about a British couple who try to recreate their successful TV series in the States. It was written by Friends‘ David Crane and Mad About You’s Jeffrey Klarik.

Hat Trick International is distributing the series, which will air next year.

The producer is also developing and distributing Dinner Date, a Blind Date-meets-Come Dine With Me style format, with a pilot for commercial network ITV.

The show follows a man who must pick three dates based on the menus that the women have created and then go to their date’s house for dinner.

Hat Trick International’s director of sales Sarah Tong told TBIvision that the series will be funny, but is a move towards more factual entertainment for the company.

“Comedy is what we’re best known for  but we want to move more into factual entertainment. We’ve done factual entertainment before it’s an interesting area for us,” she says.

Hat Trick is also launching James May’s Toy Story at MIPCOM, a 6x1hour documentary series for BBC2 starring the Top Gear presenter.