Independent production company Blanchard House has signed a multi-platform deal with IP and production venture Waterside Studios and podcast network Curiouscast to produce four podcasts that will be adapted for television, the parent company of Waterside Studios and Curiouscast Corus Entertainment announced.
“From the very beginning, our goal at Curiouscast has been to partner with and elevate exceptional creators and storytellers,” said Curiouscast director of streaming and podcasting Chris Duncombe. “We are thrilled to launch our new multi-platform partnership with Blanchard House and Waterside Studios, furthering that goal to bring compelling stories and unique perspectives to global listeners.”
The first podcast that will launch as part of the upcoming slate is a true crime show titled Black and Blue: Behind the Badge on the experiences of Black officers in law enforcement, focusing on the story of Michael Morrison who faces racism and violence after joining the police force. The series is hosted by Seren Jones and will be launching on 17 October on Curiouscast.
Once the audio launches, Blanchard House will work with Curiouscast and Waterside Studios to develop the podcast into a television adaptation. Blanchard House is a self-titled ‘IP incubator’ and CEO and co-founder Kimberly Jung previously told PodPod in an episode of the podcast that the company is dedicated to finding and developing original IP as well curating stories from around the world with unique and diverse perspectives.
“Black and Blue is such a timely and provocative story, but most importantly it’s a story about a group of people who are often talked about, but not spoken to,” said Blanchard House creative director and co-founder Rosie Pye. “It’s extremely rare to hear the voices of Black police officers in the mainstream media and we’re thrilled to be able to bring their stories to light.”
She continued: “It’s been fantastic working with the team at Curiouscast and Waterside Studios to bring this story to listeners and set up this incredible story for development for international TV audiences.”
Waterside Studios was founded in 2022 and is led by founder of creative content company Dominion of Drama, Jeff Norton. The business is focused on developing must-see scripted content with a specific focus on adapting it into television. Previous projects under Waterside include teen series Greek Girl for YTV and Netflix, adapted from the namesake debut novel by author Holly Smale.
“It’s an exciting time to be partnering with the first-class team at Blanchard House, alongside the global platform Curiouscast, to develop four amazing podcasts for TV,” said Norton. “The podcasts are utterly riveting, and I have no doubt that the TV adaptation will take the storytelling to new heights.”
A number of other podcasts are being adapted into television series including three fiction podcasts by creators and writers Joel Emery and Adam Jarrell - also known as ‘Holy Smokes’ - under podcast production company Stak. These include Enron-based sci-fi audio drama Boom, mockumentary The Offensive, and comedy drama Jackie The Ripper. However, the writers told PodPod in a previous episode of the podcast that these projects have been put on hold due to the ongoing WGA 2023 strike.
