Obituary producer Paddy Hayes spoke with IFTN about his company Magamedia’s experience through Creative Europe’s Television and Online Content scheme, ahead of the next funding deadline on May 14th.
Magamedia previously secured €500,000 in the latest round of Creative Europe’s Television and Online Content scheme for their hit drama series about a murderous obituarist. Now in its second season, Obituary tells the story of an obituarist who turns to murder when her work dries up.
The series has been codeveloped by Magamedia and French/UK production companies APC UK and APC SAS. It is scheduled to premiere on RTÉ and international platforms including Hulu in the US and Spain’s AMC later this year.
Creative Europe’s Television and Online Content is a scheme that supports producers in securing a wide international distribution for high quality European works. The 14th of May is the next deadline for the Television and Online Content scheme. Click here for more information about Creative Europe Support.
IFTN spoke with producer Paddy Hayes about the HUGE benefits of receiving funding from MEDIA, advice for those seeking to apply in future, and why Obituary was a good fit for the scheme.
IFTN: Congratulations on the receipt of €500k in funding from Creative Europe’s Television and Online Content Scheme. How significant is it for an Irish project such as Obituary to receive this support?
Hayes: “Thank you. Yes, it’s massive. This series is conceived, developed and produced in the West of Ireland with an entirely Irish creative team, cast and crew, so it’s a great boost to get support from MEDIA, and proof that a quality project will always push through.”
IFTN: Have you previously applied for this scheme before and why did you feel this project was a good fit for the scheme?
Hayes: “Yes, I have applied before, but as the great book says - many are called but few are chosen! The principle reason I thought it a good fit was because it is an organic co-production with a UK co-producer and a French distributor. Creatively, I knew Obituary had that lightning in a bottle – a story that is rooted in an authentic rural Irish world, but is thematically universal and therefore has cross-border appeal. So I’m sure it scored well in its creative assessment. Given it was a second series, we were able to prove that season 1 had an extensive distribution reach within Europe but also internationally. This enabled us to make a strong case that Obituary season 2 would showcase European culture globally – a key factor in their decision-making.”
IFTN: For those considering apply to the scheme for the first time, what advice would you give on approaching it?
Hayes: “There is a substantial amount of paperwork to get through, but it’s all quite logical if you break it down into digestible sections. My advice is to use the MEDIA desks good and early before the deadline and walk through the application with them – not when they are swamped with other applicants. To qualify, you need a minimum of two European broadcasters/streamers fully contracted, and this is often challenging to obtain until one is quite close to production – so this should be a top priority.”
IFTN: Obituary was co-developed by Magamedia and French/UK production companies APC UK and APC SAS, which is an important element of eligibility for this scheme. What can you tell us about this collaboration?
Hayes: “I pitched Obituary at the Galway Fís Summit in 2020 where it won the pitching award and I pitched it to one of the attendees Laurent Boissel of APC. It was clear early on that we shared an ambition and a vision for the series, and soon we were pitching it to streamers in the US. The key thing about this collaboration is that it formed organically from a meeting of minds rather than a collaboration born out of the requirements of a finance plan. We laid a heavy emphasis on the organic nature of this co-pro in our application – whether it was a deciding factor or not, I’m not quite sure.”
IFTN: How has a strong co-production helped elevated this project to an international level?
Hayes: “In broad strokes, we raised approximately 50% of our finances in Ireland and the rest had to come from international sources. So a tv series of this scale is not do-able without international co-operation. In development you are constantly revising your finance plan and budget trying to put the financial jigsaw together – and there is always a gap to be filled. So it was a massive fillip to the production that we were able to use the MEDIA funds to fill our gap.”
IFTN: What can we expect from Season 2 of Obituary and when can audiences expect to see it?
Hayes: “TBC but we are aiming for October for our series launch on both sides of the Atlantic – on Hulu in the US, and RTE in Ireland. For season 2, we knew we couldn’t just photocopy season 1 – so we have gone darker and zanier. Elvira does Elvira things and continues killing, but the best craic is that she is perplexed by a mysterious new murderer in town. Then the Gardaí start to suspect her of this crime she didn’t commit, so she resolves to solve the murder and catch up with this competitor. Another new character in season 2 is batshit new boss Vivienne - played by Máiréad Tyers who is the antithesis of Elvira – a chaos merchant who blows through the office and the town of Kilraven. Of course, Elvira continues to hide in plain sight, but her carefully constructed double life starts to unravel in season 2, and we will have a ring-side seat!”
Click here for more information about Creative Europe Support.
