Mediawan acquires UK docs producer Misfits Entertainment

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Source: Mediawan, WB, Alamy)

French group Mediawan has acquired a majority stake in UK-based documentary production firm Misfits Entertainment.

The prodco, which was founded in 2016 by Andee (Dee) Ryder and Ian Bonhôte, has been behind well-travelled Kingdom Of Dreams and The Contestant, which premiered at TIFF last year and has been picked up by Hulu.

The company also produced feature film McQueen, Paralympic doc Rising Phoenix and SUPER/MAN: The Christopher Reeve Story, which debuts at the Sundance 2024 Film Festival.

The deal will see Misfits continue to produce docs, but Ryder and Bonhôte will also expand their fiction slate, which includes four upcoming feature films.

Elisabeth d’Arvieu (Source: Mediawan)

Financial details have not been revealed but Mediawan said the acquisition marked “a new milestone” as it expands its factual output. The company’s prodcos have been behind shows including Paramount+’s The Stadium, Orelsan for Prime Video and Gregory for Netflix.

The France-based prodco, which is backed by US private equity firms KKR and Atwater Capital among others, already owns scripted firms in the UK including The English prodco Drama Republic, as well as animation specialist Wildseed Studios.

Elisabeth d’Arvieu, CEO of Mediawan Pictures, said: “This new partnership represents a significant opportunity to strengthen Mediawan’s international footprint and grow our premium documentary slate.”

Ryder and Bonhôte added: “With our genre agnostic approach to filmmaking, we are proud of what we have achieved in the first few years of our company in the international marketplace.

“The partnership will help us to grow our documentary team and support us to make bigger strides in the scripted global marketplace to align with what we have achieved in documentary.”

Mediawan was founded by Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse in 2015 and is the home of companies including Lagardere Studios, Storia Television, Brad Pitt-founded Plan B Entertainment and AB Groupe.

It also owns a minority stake in Leonine, the Fred Kogel-led media group that is also backed by KKR. Reports surfaced last year that Mediawan has been exploring a potential acquisition of the German firm.