According to Deadline, Riff Raff Entertainment, owned by Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley, Enemy at the Gates) and Ben Jackson (Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, The Young Pope), has partnered with France’s Newen Connect for a TV development deal. The deal is a financial backing for Riff Raff to produce a series of TV projects and Newen Connect to distribute the product.
The deal has already started the beginning stages of production for three projects. One project starring Law is political thriller Foreign Desk, written by Marek Horn (Rivals). Another project is a female-led show written by Kirstie Swain (Run, Eve). The last project is a TV series written by Chris Urch (The Rolling Stone, Land of Our Fathers).
According to Deadline, the financial backing wasn’t disclosed but is considered “significant.” The investment comes from European studio-financier Anton who put 54 million dollars (USD) in Newen in 2022.
Stephen Fuss (Adrift, 13 Sins), Riff Raff CEO, said: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Newen and leveraging their international distribution expertise to expand our television slate. This partnership will help us further our goal of making Riff Raff Entertainment the ultimate home for high-end talent to build their TV projects.”
Rodolphe Buet (Paddington, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Chief Business Officer Newen Studios, said the partnership is a “significant step forward” getting into the English language entertainment space. “Our investment and distribution expertise will offer Riff Raff an important route to market and the ability to quickly take its projects from the page to the screen.”
This isn’t Riff Raff’s first partnership for financial support. Less than two years ago, Calculus Capital gave them a multi-million dollar deal to produce their projects.
Up next for Riff Raff releases are Justin Kurzel’s (Nitram, Assassin’s Creed) movie The Order starring Law and drama series Black Rabbit starring Jason Bateman (Ozark, Arrested Development). The drama series is also co-produced with Bateman’s production company, Aggregate Films.