In a bid to bolster its international content business, ITV Studios has acquired a majority stake in  Moonage Pictures, the UK-based production company behind live-action CBBC series The Famous Five (pictured).

As part of the deal, BBC Studios has shed its minority stake in Moonage (acquired in 2018) but will keep distributing The Famous Five and YA-skewing series A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (BBC), along with high-profile adult-skewing titles such as The Gentlemen and Bodies. ITV Studios will handle international distribution of all new Moonage series going forward. 

While Moonage primarily produces adult dramas, The Famous Five (five x 90 minutes) is an adaptation of Enid Blyton’s same-name kids book series for CBBC and ZDF that follows a group of young sleuths and their dog. Moonage is currently working on second seasons of both The Famous Five and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.  

ITV Studios seems to be on a strategic growth path that leans into acquisitions, including Eagle Eye Drama (2024) and factual prodco Plimsoll Productions (2022). 

Image courtesy of the BBC.