‘End Of The F***ing World’s Dominic Buchanan & Bennett McGhee launch private equity-backed prodco

The End of the Fucking World

The End of The F***ing World producer Dominic Buchanan and Bennett McGhee (Mogul Mowgli) have launched a new production firm backed by a private equity fund.

Home Team will focus on the development and production of inclusive films and TV series, with the producers adding that the company’s intention “is to identify and develop under-represented creatives and nurture exciting voices”.

Buchanan and McGhee’s Home Team slate already includes a raft of projects, including a new TV series directed by Kate Herron (Sex Education, Loki), which she is co-writing alongside Briony Redman (Angry Quiz Guy) and which will be co-produced with Douglas Cox (Host).

LR: Dominic Buchanan & Bennett McGhee

Features include a collaboration with BBC Films on Shola Amoo’s follow-up to The Last Tree and a new British Film Institute-backed film project directed by Destiny Ekaragha (The End of the F***ing World) and Danielle Ward (In The Long Run), among numerous others.

Buchanan was most recently independently producing and building a slate of projects, which last year saw him secure a one-year first-look TV deal with Sony-backed Sex Education producer Eleven.

He was previously VP of production & development at Bold Films, where he co-produced 2018 film Colette, starring Kiera Knightly. He is also an executive producer on Channel 4 and Netflix co-production, The End of The F***ing World.

McGhee founded Silvertown Films in 2015 and has credits including Ron Scarpello’s 2016 feature documentary Bobby, Ed Lilly’s rap-battle drama V’s and Mogul Mowgli, directed by Bassam Tariq and starring Riz Ahmed. Prior to Silvertown, McGhee was an executive at Wildgaze Films, where he worked on Oscar nominated An Education.

Calculated investment

The prodco’s launch marks the latest investment to come from the Calculus Creative Content EIS Fund, which was launched in June 2019 in association with the BFI. The scheme offers tax breaks to investors and is operated by Calculus Capital and Stargrove Pictures, the film/TV finance specialists led by Stephen Fuss, who spoke to TBI about the $25m fund last year.

Other prodcos to have received backing from the Calculus fund include Wonderhood Studios, the prodco founded by ex-Channel 4 CEO David Abraham.

McGhee said: “I’m blessed to be partnering with Dominic and starting this new venture together, and thankful for the incredible support from the team at Calculus, Stargrove and the wider industry. We’d sown the seeds of these plans for a while and it’s incredibly exciting to now see them come to fruition, and champion projects from talent we believe in.”

Buchanan added: “Home Team will be a genuine home for talent, we’re continuously driven to realise our wildest ambitions, and want to move the needle with everything we do. Fortunately, Bennett and I are now truly empowered to do so.”

John Glencross, chief executive at Calculus, described McGhee and Buchanan as “two of the most exciting producers to emerge in the UK in recent years and have already shown their ability to develop groundbreaking productions, which are both critically acclaimed and commercially successful.”

Fuss said: “Dominic and Bennett are impressive individuals who have an original style and authentic voices. We are looking forward to working with them and supporting their growth plans.”