ITVS creates studio with Walking Dead prodco

ITV Studios America has created a joint venture with Circle of Confusion, the Walking Dead coproducer.

The pair will launch Circle of Confusion Television Studios, which will source, develop and produce premium scripted shows with support from ITVS America.

The studio is currently hiring a creative team to manage the day-to-day TV studios operations.

Circle of Confusion already owns a library of intellectual properties, which it will mine for new content, plus work with internal and external creative talent.

Talent management and production firm Circle of Confusion is known as executive producer on AMC zombie smash The Walking Dead (pictured) and companion series Fear the Walking Dead, both of which Entertainment One Television sells internationally.

Circle of Confusion also counts Cinemax’s Outcast and BBC America’s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency as credits, and on the film side worked on Straight Outta Compton, Mr Right and Mess.

The company’s extensive talent roster includes The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, and Michael Bendis.

David Alpert, David Engel, Frank Frattaroli, Lawrence Mattis and Brad Mendelsohn, who are Circle of Confusion’s partners, issued a statement noting they had been looking for a partner with whom to expand their TV business.

“ITV’s creative openness, financial strength and global reach will empower Circle of Confusion Television Studios to create more premium groundbreaking shows to excite audiences around the world,” they said in the statement.

For ITVS America, the partnership comes after it created Tomorrow Studios with Marty Adelstein, and took equity stakes in Blumhouse Television and Indigenous Media.

ITV Studios Global Entertainment will take distribution rights to Circle of Confusion Television Studios’ output.

“The team at Circle of Confusion has established a clear track record in both talent management and developing hit content that gives the new venture a great deal of creative and commercial potential,” said ITVS America president Philippe Maigret.

“The portfolio of projects that will come out of Circle of Confusion Television Studios will be a perfect addition to our development and production slate as we continue to scale up ITV Studios’ US scripted television business.”