News round-up: BBC Scotland doc tackles ‘Ice Cream Wars’; S4C awards Welsh ‘Gogglebox’ tender; RASI acquires ‘Kid Sister’ & ‘Summer Love’ rights

The Ice Cream Wars

BBC Scotland doc tackles ‘Ice Cream Wars’

BBC Scotland has commissioned indie Two Rivers Media to produce a series about a vicious gang war that tore through the tough housing estates of Glasgow in the early 1980s.

The Ice Cream Wars (2 x 60-minutes) will use archive, first-hand testimony and high-end dramatic reconstruction to tell the story of a gangland battle over the most unlikely of things – ice cream van routes.

This battle would result in the murder of six members of the same, completely innocent, family, including an 18-month-old baby, leading to an infamous miscarriage of justice and a crime that remains unsolved to this day.

Alan Clements, MD of Two Rivers Media, said: “As is evident in much of our work, these films won’t only tell this astonishing story of the crime itself, but will reflect back the social and political realities of the time through the lens of what was, at the time, one of the most dangerous cities in Britain. 

Sioned Wyn

S4C awards Welsh ‘Gogglebox’ tender

Welsh pubcaster S4C has awarded the tender to produce a local language version of reality format Gogglebox to indies Chwarel and Cwmni Da.

Last month, S4C opened applications for production companies to tender for the Welsh language version of Channel 4 and Studio Lambert’s Gogglebox reality format, which will be titled Gogglebocs Cymru, and captures ordinary members of the public’s reactions to current TV programming.

Chwarel, the indie behind The Great House Giveaway, for Channel 4 and Ty am Ddim for S4C, will team up with Caernarfon-based production company, Cwmni Da to co-produce the Welsh language version of the format.

This marks the first time Studio Lambert and Channel 4 have licensed the franchise to another UK based broadcaster.

The first episode will broadcast in the first week of November and casting is underway now.

“It’s going to absolutely amazing’ said Sioned Wyn, managing director of Chwarel. “We’ve been waiting a long time for something like this. The ambition is to make it not only the top-rated show on S4C, but the whole of Wales – and beyond.”

Summer Love

RASI acquires ‘Kid Sister’ & ‘Summer Love’ rights

Red Arrow Studios International has acquired global distribution rights to a pair of new drama titles – Kid Sister (5 x 30-minutes), a coming-of-age comedy series from New Zealand-based production company Greenstone TV and Summer Love (8 x 30-minutes), an anthology series from Australian producer Gristmill.

Kid Sister is created by Simone Nathan (Our Flag Means Death) who also stars as lead character ‘Lulu’. The series launched on TVNZ On Demand in New Zealand earlier this year.

Created and directed by Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope (Upper Middle Bogan, Little Lunch), anthology series Summer Love is produced by Gristmill for ABC (Australia) and sees eight very different sets of people rent the same beachside holiday house, where they experience some incarnation of love.