Red Production Company

British television production company

Red Production Company Limited
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Television
Genre	Production company
Founded	1998; 26 years ago (1998)
Founder	Nicola Shindler
Headquarters	MediaCityUK, Manchester , United Kingdom
Parent	StudioCanal
Website	redproductioncompany.com

Red Production Company Limited^[1]^[2] is a British independent television production company owned by StudioCanal.^[3]

Background

Red Production Company was formed in 1998 by Nicola Shindler, a television producer who had worked on Our Friends in the North and Cracker. Based at MediaCityUK in Manchester in the north of England, Red's first production was the controversial drama Queer as Folk, written by Russell T Davies and based on the lives of three gay men in the city. This was screened on Channel 4 in early 1999 and drew much comment and praise.

The same year, Red followed this up with another series for Channel 4, an anthology of six half-hour plays about love entitled Love in the 21st Century. Queer as Folk 2 arrived in 2000, and since then Red has expanded to produce dramas for nearly all of the main British television channels. The company's success led to an attempt by Granada Television – in whose Quay Street building the company rented offices – to buy it, but Shindler turned down their offer, wanting to retain control of her own company.

In 2013, Red moved into the MediaCityUK complex in Manchester.^[4]

Partnerships

In December 2013, it was announced that Shindler had sold a majority stake in Red to the French media company StudioCanal.^[5]^[6]

In 2015, it was announced that Shindler would provide creative guidance and management oversight to a new production company called Guilty Party, founded by the actor Simon Bird, Jonny Sweet, and Spencer Millman.^[7]

In 2016, Shindler went into business with author Harlan Coben to form the US-based production company, Final Twist Productions. Shindler is Co-CEO with Coben. StudioCanal will provide distribution services.^[8]

Programmes

For BBC One

Clocking Off (2000–03)
Linda Green (2001–02)
Sparkhouse (2002)
The Good Housekeeping Guide (2006)
Magnolia (2006)
New Street Law (2006–07)
Single Father (2010)
Last Tango in Halifax (2012–2020)
The Driver (2014)
Happy Valley (2014–23)
Ordinary Lies (2015–16)
Danny and the Human Zoo (2015)
Trust Me (2017)
Come Home (2018)
Years and Years (2019)

For BBC Two

Flesh and Blood (2002)
Indian Dream (2003)

For BBC Choice

Having It Off (2002)

For BBC Three

Burn It (2003)
Casanova (2005)
Conviction (2004)

For ITV

Bob & Rose (2001)
The Second Coming (2003)
Mine All Mine (2004)
Big Dippers (2005)
Dead Man Weds (2005)
Jane Hall (2006)
Unforgiven (2009)
Scott & Bailey (2011–16)
Prey (2014–15)
Paranoid (2016)
Butterfly (2018)
Finding Alice (2021)

For Channel 4

Queer as Folk (1999–2000)
Love in the 21st Century (1999)
Legless (2005)
The Mark of Cain (2007)
Cucumber (2015)
It's a Sin (2021)

For E4

Banana (2015)

For Sky One

Now You See Her (2001)

For Sky Atlantic

Hit & Miss (2011)

For Netflix

Paranoid (2016)
Safe (2018)
The Stranger (2020)
Stay Close (2021)

For Amazon Prime Video

Anansi Boys (TBA)

References

^ "RED PRODUCTION COMPANY LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House. 24 December 1997. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
^ "Front Page - Red Production Company". Red Production Company. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
^ Perraudin, Frances (24 July 2016). "Happy Valley producer: Gritty north? 'I get very cross about that phrase'". The Guardian.
^ Begum, Shelina (2 October 2013). "RED Production Company moves to MediaCityUK". Manchester Evening News.
^ Sweney, Mark (5 December 2013). "Last Tango in Halifax producer sells majority stake to French company". The Guardian.
^ Barraclough, Leo; Keslassy, Elsa (5 December 2013). "Studiocanal Ramps Up TV Series Biz with RED Acquisition". Variety.
^ Ritman, Alex (14 October 2015). "StudioCanal Launches U.K. TV, Film Banner with 'Inbetweeners' Star". The Hollywood Reporter.
^ Barraclough, Leo (8 March 2016). "Harlan Coben Launches U.S. Production Company Final Twist With Red's Nicola Shindler (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.

External links

Official website

Vivendi

List of owned assets

Directors

Groupe Canal+

Canal+ France	C8 Canal+ (provider) Afrique Calédonie Caraïbes Canal+ Sport 360 Canal+ Sport Canal+ Foot Canal+ Séries Canal+ Cinéma Canal+ Docs Canal+ Kids Ciné+ CNews CStar Mezzo TV (50%) Mezzo Live HD (50%) MultiThématiques Ciné+ Premier Ciné+ Frisson Ciné+ Émotion Ciné+ Famiz Ciné+ Club Ciné+ Classic InfoSport+ Foot+ Rugby+ Golf+ Olympia TV Comédie+ Polar+ Planète+ Planète+ Crime Planète+ Aventure Seasons CStar Hits France Piwi+ Télétoon+ Télétoon+1 OCS Thema TV Nollywood TV Nollywood TV Epic Novelas TV
Canal+ Poland (51%)	Ale Kino+ Domo Kuchina MiniMini+ Canal+ Premium Sport Sport 2 Teletoon+
M7 Group	Canal Digitaal Focus Sat Skylink Télésat TV Vlaanderen
StudioCanal	Arthaus Red Production Company Rok Studios StudioCanal UK Tandem Productions