The production company based in Belfast, led by the creators of the acclaimed police series Blue Lights, has seen its major stake taken over by one of the globe\’s largest entertainment enterprises.
Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn think that Sony Pictures Television’s acquisition of a 51% share in Hot Sauce Ltd will enable them to achieve even more significant milestones in the future.
“SPT’s support will accelerate Hot Sauce and enable it to launch as a complete production company,” Sony stated.
As a majority-held entity, Hot Sauce has become part of the SPT International Production group’s collection of companies, joining others like Left Bank Pictures, Eleven, Eleventh Hour Films, and Bad Wolf from Cardiff.
This will mark SPT\’s second production company in Belfast, operating alongside Stellify Media, which specializes in non-scripted content and formats.
One of the \’Big Five\’ film studios globally, Sony Pictures is a division of the massive global corporation known as Sony Group Corporation.
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Matthew Justice, who leads Sony’s operations in the UK and Europe, commented: \”Primarily, this agreement represents an investment in Declan and Adam because we hold their work in very high regard. Identifying individuals with both the skill set, capability, and drive to expand a business based on their creativity is invariably appealing.\”
They adopt a distinctive, analytic method for developing dramas and have attracted widespread interest since the triumph of Blue Lights; thus, having the chance to welcome them into the SPT family and collaborate with them on the upcoming chapters of Hot Sauce is incredibly thrilling.
Addressing the Irish News, Adam Patterson stated, \”This demonstrates the significant trust this major international media company places in Belfast’s potential as a center for creativity in television and film.\”
He added: “Until now, Declan and I have been ‘creatives for hire’, but the Sony intervention will allow us to make global programmes on a massive scale.
We\’re already expanding our operations for Hot Sauce in Belfast and bringing on several new team members.
We have grand aspirations to produce, develop, and shoot television shows and movies right here in Belfast, aiming to substantially expand the creative industry sector locally.
This marks an incredibly thrilling phase in our professional journeys, and we are confident that we can create a enduring impact on the filmmaking industry in Northern Ireland.
Lawn and Patterson encountered each other during their tenure at the BBC’s prominent news program, Panorama. Later, they collaborated on writing the successful BBC drama \”The Salisbury Poisonings,\” which emerged as the network’s top-rated drama series in 2020.
The initial full-length movie \”Rogue Agent,\” featuring James Norton and Gemma Arterton, came out on Netflix and in theaters across the US in 2022.
However, it\’s the triumph of Blue Lights that has propelled the duo to global recognition, and they are presently working on series three, with a subsequent fourth series planned.
They refer to it as \”a labor of love dedicated to a city we hold dear\” and plan to share behind-the-scenes stories regarding its development. They aim to highlight Belfast’s vibrant narrative tradition and its rising status on the international scene when they appear as keynote speakers at the Belfast Chamber of Commerce yearly luncheon at the City Hall on Wednesday.