We are delighted to reveal that The Bottle Yard Studios will be home to the major US TV series Galavant, produced by Disney’s ABC Studios, when it shoots in the UK later this summer.
Pre-production for the highly anticipated series has begun this week, and shooting will begin in August.
ABC Studios, the television production division of Disney-ABC Television group, began discussions earlier this year when it chose to base production for the making of Galavant’s pilot at The Studios.
Screenwriter/executive producer Dan Fogelman (Crazy, Stupid, Love, Tangled, Cars) has teamed up with Broadway and Hollywood award-winning musical team – Oscar®-winning composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast) and lyricist Glenn Slater (The Little Mermaid, Tangled) – to create this musical comedy fairytale of epic proportions.
Galavant stars Joshua Sasse as Galavant, Timothy Omundson as King Richard, Vinnie Jones as Gareth, Mallory Jansen as Madalena, Karen David as Isabella and Luke Youngblood as Sid.
Fiona Francombe, Managing Director of The Bottle Yard Studios, said: “We were quietly proud to have been home to the Galavant pilot earlier this year, and we’re thrilled that ABC Studios have now decided to base the full series at The Bottle Yard Studios. To have secured a booking from a major international studio like this is confirmation that our facilities are competing at the highest level against other spaces in the UK production scene.”
“We decided to base Galavant at The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol because we were confident we’d get a first class service from Fiona Francombe and her team,” said Helen Flint, UK Producer. “The studio is conveniently situated for Bristol and the great locations that surround the city.”
The show traces the fortunes of dashing hero Galavant, who has lost the love of his life, Madalena, to the evil King Richard and is ready to take revenge and restore his “happily ever after” – but not without a few twists and turns along the way.
Galavant was written by Dan Fogelman who also serves as executive producer. Executive producers are Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. Galavant is directed by Chris Koch. Abbey C Studios Ltd. produces Galavant for ABC Studios.
Galavant was the first US broadcast pilot to film in the UK since the Government brought in a new high end TV tax relief in April 2013, which provides a 25% rebate on 80% of production budget spent in the UK. At the time, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne commented: “This government wants to make sure high-end television programming from all over the world is made in the UK. These productions bring jobs and investment to our country. That’s why I introduced a specific tax relief to encourage more of them here in the UK. I want more global companies like ABC to look to the UK as a highly skilled, innovative and creative industry when choosing a location for their television programming.”