Avalon is an award-winning talent management, live promotion, television production and distribution group with offices in the UK, Los Angeles and New York. As the UK’s number one truly independent production company, Avalon has produced some of the most critically-acclaimed and internationally popular shows, from HBO’s multi-Emmy® Award-winning Last Week Tonight with John Oliver to global hit Catastrophe, sold to nearly 150 territories, and entertainment show Taskmaster, which was recently commissioned straight to series by Comedy Central in the US. Avalon Distribution, the group’s international sales arm, has almost 20 years’ experience taking finished programming and formats across a range of genres to global markets. 3 CONTENTS FORMAT 6 The Button 8 Taskmaster 10 The £1 Houses 12 Re-Dub! 13 Countdown To Disaster 14 The Russell Howard Hour 16 The Chris Ramsey Show 17 Sugar Free Farm 18 Money Pit 19 Kids With Cameras 20 Unspun 21 TV Burp COMEDY AND ENTERTAINMENT 22 Catastrophe 24 Re-Dub! 25 The Russell Howard Hour 26 Man Down 27 Not Going Out 28 Please Like Me 29 Trying Again 30 The Chris Ramsey Show 31 Dave Gorman: Modern Life is Goodish 32 Chris Ramsey’s Stand Up Central 33 Russell Howard’s Stand Up Central FACTUAL 34 Countdown To Disaster 36 The £1 Houses 38 The Murder Next Door 39 The Problem With Apu 40 Russell Howard & Mum: USA Road Trip 42 The Baby Boomers’ Guide to Growing Old 43 The Three Day Nanny 44 The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door 46 Nev’s Indian Call Centre 47 Scrappers 48 Caught Red Handed 49 Grumpy... / Three Men in a Boat 50 Close Calls on Camera 51 Heir Hunters CATALOGUE 52 Comedy, Scripted 56 Comedy, Non-Scripted 58 Stand-Up 62 Entertainment 66 Factual & Documentaries 4 5 FORMAT THE BUTTON The Button, a brand new format for BBC One created and produced by the award- Teams must keep an eye on The Button – which turns from green to red when it’s time to winning team behind Taskmaster. The Button is the host, the sidekick and the banker in this play – because it’s a race against time to hit the Button and start the game. The Button innovative primetime format. In each episode, the interactive Button lives in five different delivers the task, interacts with the players and reveals their rivals on screen as well as the households who then face spontaneous challenges against the clock to win a cash prize. all-important results. An Avalon Television production for BBC One Episodes available: 8 x 30’ 6 7 FORMAT TASKMASTER In this Broadcast Award-winning, BAFTA and Emmy® Award-nominated entertainment In the UK, GREG DAVIES (Man Down, The Inbetweeners) takes on the role of the Taskmaster format, the Taskmaster, with the help of their loyal assistant, sets out to test the wiles, with the show’s creator and 2014 Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee ALEX HORNE wit and wisdom of five hyper competitive comedians. Mixing studio reaction with location as his assistant. Contenders so far include: FRANK SKINNER (The Frank Skinner Show), tasks and a live studio task, Taskmaster is a dynamic reinvention of comedy entertainment. MEL GIEDROYC (The Great British Bake Off), ROMESH RANGANATHAN (Asian The successful format is rolling out globally, having sold into 12 countries; local productions Provocateur), HUGH DENNIS (Outnumbered), NOEL FIELDING (The Mighty Boosh) and include Comedy Central USA, TVE Spain and SVT Sweden where the second series is SALLY PHILLIPS (Bridget Jones’ Diary). Series four, five and a two-part special premiered topping the ratings in its Friday primetime slot. on UKTV last year to fantastic ratings, making the show one of Dave’s most successful original commissions. Following the show’s continued success, a further four series have Setting a series of strange and surreal challenges, the Taskmaster will push the contestants been commissioned, with series 6 due to transmit later this year. to the limits of comic invention and give them the chance to be more competitive, inventive and mischievous than ever before. Their assistant will coax the hopeful champions to show “Wildly stupid fun... a winner.” The Guardian their creativity and conniving. With the chance to be crowned Taskmaster champion, and to win each other’s belongings, rivalry is encouraged, dodgy tactics rewarded and bribes “This is a hoot and a lovely reinvention of the panel show format” accepted in what is the most dogged, hard-fought and ridiculous comedy entertainment “[An] inspired idea… Most importantly, it’s hilarious.” (Saturday Review) The Times format on TV. “You haven’t lived until you’ve seen some of the nation’s finest comedians trying to “(A) splendidly silly new gameshow.” The Times HHHH cram as much watermelon in their mouths as possible.” (EVENT) Mail on Sunday An Avalon Television production for UKTV (Dave) Episodes available: 42 x 60’ plus 2 x 60’ Champion of Champions 8 9 FORMAT THE £1 HOUSES This format explores the all-too-familiar social issue of affordable housing – or lack thereof – The UK series was Channel 4’s most watched programme on its launch, premiering to an by following a group of first-time buyers as they take advantage of a local council’s scheme impressive consolidated audience of 2.6 million viewers and outperforming Channel 4’s of selling off derelict houses for a very small price. But the buyers are facing some big risks. slot average by 22%. They must invest thousands of pounds of their own money renovating the properties within 12 months, or the Council can take them back with no compensation. And they must commit “The show (not the scheme) works because it has all those makeover game show to live in a run-down area known for crime and anti-social behaviour. elements – tantrums and tears, setbacks and pressures – that make good television. But it’s real, and so you actually care.” Sam Wollaston, The Guardian A Topical Television production for Channel 4 Episodes available: 4 x 60’ 10 11 FORMAT © HISTORY/A+E Networks UK COUNTDOWN TO DISASTER Countdown to Disaster is a brand new documentary format that takes an unprecedented look at some of the most impactful events that affected the 20th and 21st centuries. The unique series shines a spotlight on the human cost of the tragedies while seeking to explain the wider political, cultural and institutional context that contributed to them – and looks at the changes made in the wake of each disaster. With individual narratives RE-DUB! (w/t) explored by journalists, the series asks why warning signs were often ignored and how seemingly innocuous decisions – sometimes made decades before – contributed to the events that changed a country forever. In this hilarious entertainment format, produced by Avalon Television for Sky One, Re-Dub! Each self-contained episode explores a different event. The UK version made for (w/t) sees a team of established impressionists and new mimics re-voice a range of clips HISTORY® covers the recent Grenfell Tower tragedy (2017); the Ladbroke Grove rail from the realms of entertainment, news, politics and sport, giving an alternative take on the crash (1999); the Zeebrugge ferry disaster (1987); and the King’s Cross Fire (1987). most talked about stories of the moment. From the latest political scandal, a major sporting The series also examines the Piper Alpha oil platform explosion (1988) and the moment or celebrity gossip, the show has the last word by – quite literally – putting words Munich Air crash (1958), both of which will be broadcast during their 30th and 60th in the mouths of a host of famous faces. anniversaries, respectively. An Avalon Television production for Sky One An Avalon Factual production for HISTORY® Episodes available: 10 x 30’ Episodes available: 6 x 60’ 12 13 FORMAT THE RUSSELL HOWARD HOUR In The Russell Howard Hour format, the host RUSSELL offers an international perspective In the UK version, guests included SIR RICHARD BRANSON, ED SHEERAN MBE, JOHN and reaction to the seemingly relentless flow of major British and world news stories OLIVER (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver) and GREG DAVIES (Taskmaster, Man Down), breaking 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In this series RUSSELL conducts in-depth, supported by performances from the best of British comedy (including PAUL CHOWDHRY one-on-one, studio interviews each week, as well as introducing some (very) junior global and PHIL ELLIS). The Sky One show launched with a consolidated audience of over 1 correspondents to offer their on-the-ground perspective on what the hell is going on in the million viewers and a second series has been commissioned. world. Speaking about the show RUSSELL said, “It’s fair to say that the world is insane at the moment - when was the last time you saw the news and weren’t terrified? Every day we’re bombarded with something new, so, in my new show we’re going to celebrate the heroes and mock the madness.” An Avalon Television production for Sky One Episodes available: 14 x 60’ 14 15 FORMAT SUGAR FREE FARM Seven celebrities undergo a challenging dietary experiment; living without sugar, refined carbohydrates, cheap meat and bad fats for three weeks on a farm, and at the end they find out who has lost the most weight. In this ITV primetime show famous faces turn their backs on the modern food industry to live and work on a farm in return for only the natural, wholesome food they produce themselves. The celebrities push their bodies to the limit and embrace a completely new, healthy lifestyle, with their roles split between working on the farm and preparing and cooking their own healthy meals.