Kudos strikes deal with Broadchurch producer

Shine-backed drama producer Kudos has inked a first-look deal with Imaginary Friends, the UK production company that has recently had huge success with ITV drama Broadchurch.

Imaginary Friends is run by Chris Chibnall who wrote and exec-produced Broadchurch. Shine International distributes the serialised crime mystery, which generated massive ratings ITV1 with an average audience of 9.4 million..

Under the two-year deal, Kudos will have an exclusive first look to co-develop and coproduce Chibnall’s new original scripted ideas with Imaginary Friends. As with Broadchurch, Chibnall would executive produce any future commissions alongside Kudos’ chief executive Jane Featherstone.

Shine International will manage all international sales.

Chibnall has previously worked with Kudos as a writer on Life on Mars and as a showrunner on Law & Order: UK.

Jane Featherstone said: “Broadchurch was just the beginning and I’m incredibly excited about what we can do together next.”

Chris Chibnall said: “I set up Imaginary Friends to create authored mainstream dramas. Broadchurch was a joyous and inspiring collaboration, and when I told Jane Featherstone about the next ideas I had in mind, the glint in her eye matched the one in mine.