Factual content specialist Off The Fence (OTF) bolstered its slate with a brand new series from...
Factual content specialist Off The Fence (OTF) bolstered its slate with a brand new series from London and Los Angeles-based Dash Pictures with high-profile presenting talent attached. 'Billy and Dom Eat the World' is a six-part series featuring talent more often associated with the big screen. The series follows actors Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan, immortalised as Hobbits Merry and Pippin in The Lord of the Rings feature films, as they embark on a global food adventure that takes them to six locations in each one-hour episode. The two friends will explore a different destination and its unique culinary culture and in true Hobbit style, Billy and Dom travel on foot, seeking not only new tastes, flavours and dishes, but the secret lives of the cities on their itinerary.
Daniel Sharp, founder and executive producer of Dash Pictures, said: ‘This is the first time in 20 years that Billy and Dom have appeared together on the screen. They were extremely keen to get started on this project with us and working with them both is a real pleasure. They both have a vast knowledge and excitement about food and travel, their energy and enthusiasm is simply infectious!
Loren Baxter, OTF’s head of acquisitions, said: “Daniel and the team at Dash have already demonstrated with Fantastic Friends that harnessing big-screen talent to a fresh, fun idea is a magical formula. Billy and Dom Eat the World delivers an equally enriching experience. With their seven-meal-a-day habit, who better to conduct a global food tour than two ex-Hobbits?”
Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan launched a podcast in 2021 called The Friendship Onion in which they look back on their time on The Lord of the Rings with cast and crew, and peel back the layers of their own friendship with the show regularly featuring in the Top 100 podcasts for Film and TV. Billy and Dom Eat the World reunites the pair on TV screens for the first time bringing their “bromance” to worldwide audiences with plenty of mischief and shenanigans in this next chapter of their adventures in the real world.
Dominic Monaghan said: ‘In the 20 years I have known Billy we have been lucky enough to travel with extensively. Since The Return of the King, we’ve been looking for something new to do on screen together that people who follow our careers and those that haven’t yet may enjoy. Alongside Daniel Sharp at Dash Pictures and Martin Blencowe we think we have found the perfect group to capture the infectious way we both see the world through food.”
Boyd said: “When Dom and I met in New Zealand whilst making the Lord of The Rings Trilogy, we travelled all over that beautiful country, meeting incredible people and seeing a completely different lifestyle from where we grew up. Now to take that passion we have for travel and new experiences into this TV show, like the Hobbits of Tolkien’s Middle Earth, we know how important food is in discovering a new culture and getting to know new people. We will show the less travelled streets, incredible and hidden food and the magical people of our world. It’s definitely time for an adventure.”
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A second season of Dash Pictures’ entertaining travel series, FantasticFriends, which is about...
A second season of Dash Pictures’ entertaining travel series, Fantastic Friends, which is about to wrap production, presents first look images featuring hosts James and Oliver Phelps – aka the mischievous Weasley twins from Harry Potter.
The eight-part season has been filmed in spectacular locations including Turkey, Swiss Alps, Singapore, Australia, Florida in the US, Chile and Patagonia and sees a line-up of the twins’ special guests embark on adrenaline-fueled adventures such as ice climbing, snowmobiling, ghost hunting and go karting – all with a magical theme.
Produced and directed by Emmy Award-nominated filmmaker Daniel Sharp (Vikings: The Rise and Fall, Deadly Engineering), each episode sees the Phelps twins travel to a destination to meet one of their famous friends, who then sets them a thrilling challenge taking place against a stunning backdrop.
This second season’s friends include Matt Lewis - Harry Potter, Me Before You, All Creatures Great and Small, Happy Valley; Alfie Allen - Games of Thrones, John Wick, The Predator;
Mark Williams - Harry Potter, Shakespeare in Love, 101 Dalmations; Alfie Enoch - Harry Potter, The Picture of Dorian Gray, This is Christmas; Corey Mylechreest - The Sandman, Mars, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story; Genesis Rodriguez - The Fugitive, Tusk, Man on a Ledge, Hours; Nat Tena - Harry Potter, Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama, Game of Thrones and Stanislav Yanevski - Harry Potter The Cloaking, Last Man Down, Hostel: Part II.
James Phelps says, "Filming season two has been incredible fun. We've travelled far and wide to destinations including Australia, Singapore and Chile, taking on all sorts of adventures... We even picked up motorbike licences so we could tour through the Alps with our old friend Stan Yanevski. This season we've filmed eight episodes, so we've been able to travel with old friends from the Harry Potter movies and some newer friends we've made along the way."
Daniel Sharp says, "We’ve had an amazing time filming the second season of Fantastic Friends in many incredible parts of the world. It’s been a pleasure working again with James and Oliver who are the perfect partners with their hands-on attitude, enthusiasm, warmth and humour. Meeting their friends has been inspirational and, while this is an ambitious travel and adventure series, it is ultimately a celebration of true friendship."
Fantastic Friends is produced by Daniel Sharp and Agata Pieczynska (For the Love of the Game; Prince Harry in Africa) and executive produced by James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Martin Blencowe and Daniel Sharp.
The first series of Fantastic Friends starred the twins’ Harry Potter co-stars Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) and Luke Youngblood (Lee Jordan), as well as Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams, Outlander’s Sophie Skelton and The Sixth Sense’s Haley Joel Osment. The action moved from Iceland to Ireland, from St Lucia to Dubai, as the twins expanded their horizons and explored new worlds, while engaging in a series of magic-themed challenges and competitions.
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Following the domestic and international success ofhistory series Forgotten Frontlines, produced for...
Following the domestic and international success of history series Forgotten Frontlines, produced for Canada’s Super Channel and distributor Off The Fence in 2022, Go Button Media is delighted to announce that the partnership has been renewed and extended for a further six factual series.
The new contract sees Go Button Media commissioned to create a slate of 36 hours across six series over a 2-year period, from the popular unscripted genres in which it excels - such as history, paranormal, engineering and science - and then deliver each as a six-hour series across 2 years. The deal is not linked to specific titles at present but plays to the strength of Go Button’s evolving relationship with each partner, along with its rapidly growing reputation for swiftly and reliably producing top quality, cost-effective and compelling factual content with global appeal.
Daniel Oron, co-founder and executive producer at Go Button Media comments: “Super Channel has long been a supporter of Go Button’s projects and we are elated to be making new programmes for its audience on our home turf. In addition, following a previous project, we are especially thrilled to extend and deepen our relationship with Off the Fence, creating a range of new factual content for this dynamic company to take to broadcasters and platforms around the world. Off The Fence has an impressive reputation for investing in and representing only the very best in factual programming and we are proud to have them as a partner”.
Loren Baxter, head of acquisitions at Off the Fence, says: “Forgotten Frontlines worked very well for us last year, so we are now keen to replicate and scale that success across our key content pillars of yesterday, today and tomorrow. This new partnership, alongside Super Channel will not only give us six new series to sell but, as a commissioner, we also have a fantastic opportunity to work closely with Daniel and the team to marry Go Button’s creative ideas with our own market insights and ensure each series readily meets current international demand.”
Jackie Pardy, chief content officer at Super Channel adds: “Go Button Media has become one of our most valued suppliers of factual programming in recent years, so we had no hesitation in extending our relationship and committing to this new slate. We now look forward to working with Go Button and Off the Fence to bring a range of exciting new titles to our viewers.”
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A big pat on the back and a round of applause to OTF Productions for winning a whole host of awards...
A big pat on the back and a round of applause to OTF Productions for winning a whole host of awards at Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards 2022, including Best Production Company of the Year!
See below for all the OTF winners!
Best Production Company of 2022
Grand Prix for Best Documentary: Going Circular
Environment, Ecology and Sustainability (Gold): Going Circular
Nature and Wildlife (Silver): Rescued Chimpanzees of the Congo with Jane Goodall - Episode 3: Making Friends
Science, Technology and Innovation (Silver): Underworld
Science, Technology and Innovation (Finalist Diploma): Ancient Engineering - Episode 4: Rise of the Super Castles
History and Personalities/Portraits (Finalist Diploma): The Year That Rocked The World - Episode 3: 1989
Lots to celebrate and more to look forward to at OTF!