Friends star Courteney Cox and UK producer Sister are investing in a new production venture from British TV producer Richard Bacon.
Bacon has launched Yes Yes Media, which will have bases in London and LA and focus on non-scripted and has a host of high-profile investors. Joining Cox and Sister in backing the venture are Snow Patrol star Johnny McDaid, 17-time Grammy nominee Savan Kotecha and French production house Satisfaction.
Sister, the producer behind Chernobyl and Giri/Haji, has taken a “significant stake” in the business. Yes Yes will tape into Sister’s investments in television, film, podcasting, publishing and live events to secure work.
Satisfaction will also have a “significant” stake in the business and has signed an agreement with Bacon to co-develop formats for local and global buyers.
Bacon, known for presenting British kids TV magazine show Blue Peter, also plans to develop proprietary hardware and software to allow viewers to interact with formats on multiple devices. To that end, he has hired California-based tech entrepreneurs Geoff Abbott and Reed Seerman.
“We’re now truly in the TikTok era, but traditional television entertainment hasn’t fully tapped into that in a way that feels native,” said Bacon. “I see all screens as television now. At Yes Yes we’re developing content that naturally and authentically meets audiences on any of their devices. We’re writing talent and game shows, collaborating with a video gaming company, and creating formats that we’ll live stream directly to viewers ourselves, with everyone watching and changing the story.”
Bacon is also working with McDaid and Kotecha, whose penned hits for Ariana Grande and The Weeknd, to develop music formats.
Sister co-founder Elisabeth Murdoch said Bacon was a “bold, creative entrepreneur, who is full of ideas and truly thinks differently, while Satisfaction founder and producer Arthur Essebag added: “This goes far beyond a mere investment: it is our strong belief in Richard’s talent and astonishing creativity, and our wish to support him in creating a new wave of unscripted formats using never-before-seen technology.”
Cox was earlier this week seen on social media appearing in a video for the upcoming second season of BBC unscripted hit The Traitors, joking with presenter Claudia Winkleman she was desperate for a slot on the show.
Bacon has landed several commissions in recent years, with The BBC picking up This is MY House and ABC taking The Hustler. He previously had a production deal with Universal Television Alternative Studio and Universal Television but Deadline understands this has now ended.
Yes Yes Media is represented by CAA and Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman.