A+E Networks takes 50% stake in Rachael Ray’s Free Food Studios

Rachael Ray’s Italian Dream Home (Source: A+E Networks)

A+E Networks in the US has formed a joint venture with Free Food Studios, the production company formed last year by author and TV personality Rachael Ray, alongside Brian Flanagan, Anthony Amoia and Sean Lee of Intentional Content.

Under the deal, A+E takes a 50% stake in the company, which will produce 278 episodes of new programming for the broadcast group’s Home.Made.Nation lifestyle block, FYI and other platforms, to be distributed globally by A+E Networks.

The first two series to be produced from the venture include Rachael Ray’s Meals In Minutes, a 30 x 30-minute cooking show hosted from Ray’s personal home kitchen, as she cooks a complete meal in minutes from comfort food to sophisticated fare.

Rachael Ray’s Tuscany (working title), meanwhile, is a 30 x 30-minute show presented from Ray’s Italian villa in Tuscany, where she puts her own unique spin on dishes from the region.

Free Food Studios focuses on producing, owning, and distributing “in the kitchen” content created by Ray and serving as a platform for “the introduction and development of new and upcoming epicurean talent”. All projects produced by Free Food Studios will be executive produced by Ray in addition to Flanagan, Amoia and Lee.

Flanagan and Intentional Content are behind titles Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals for Food Network, Long Island Medium for TLC and Moonshiners for Discovery. Their most recent projects with Ray include her home renovation show Rachael Ray’s Italian Dream Home on FYI and Rachael Ray’s Rebuild on Hulu.

Home.Made.Nation is A+E Networks’ cross-network, cross-platform hub for lifestyle programming, currently available on A&E, FYI and FAST channels and is currently home to series from Ray and Buddy Valastro, as well as home renovation shows including Zombie House Flipping and Triple Digit Flip.

“A+E Networks continues to partner with leading content creators and talent as we expand our genre-leading Home.Made.Nation lifestyle programming portfolio, and there is no one more synonymous with culinary programming than Rachael Ray and the team at Free Food Studios,” said Rob Sharenow, president of programming, A+E Networks.