‘Once Upon A Time In Londongrad’: Sky Greenlights Landmark Doc Series From Hulu’s ‘WeWork’ Director Jed Rothstein
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: Hulu’s WeWork director Jed Rothstein is forging landmark Sky documentary Once Upon a Time in Londongrad, exploring 14 mysterious deaths in the UK with alleged connections to Russia over two decades.Oscar-winning production outfit Rise Films is behind the show in association with Universal Studio Group, BuzzFeed Studios and Concordia Studio.Helmed by investigative reporter Heidi Blake, the doc series is incredibly timely and will examine how Vladimir Putin’s two decades in power have made the UK reliant on Russian money and thereby led to missed opportunities to contain the Kremlin.The deaths, which include high-profiles such as Alexander Litvinenko and Salisbury-poisoned Sergei Skripal, will be explored in connection with the hidden underworld of Russian exiles in London, coming as high-profile Russians living in the UK such as former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich face sanctions.
The issue has been a hot topic since the war in Ukraine started almost three months ago and Europe has used sanctions as a major weapon against the Russians.Rothstein was behind Hulu doc WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47BN Unicorn and was also nominated for an Oscar for documentary short Killing in the Name.
Meanwhile, producer Rise Films is a highly-respected London-based outfit that won an Oscar for Netflix’s Icarus.Once Upon A Time in Londongrad will air on Sky Documentaries in the UK and Ireland and is being distributed internationally by NBCUniversal Global Distribution.The series was commissioned by Jack Oliver, Head of Co-Productions for Sky and Zai Bennett, Sky’s Managing Director of Content.
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