Hostile Planet and Tiny World producer Plimsoll Productions is taking its Channel 4 carpentry format Handmade: Britain’s Best Woodworker to the U.S. as Channel 4 issues a rare double season order.
Discovery+ holds streaming rights in North America for the finished tape version of the UK show and Plimsoll will pitch the format as Handmade: Good With Wood to broadcast, premium cable and streaming platforms in the coming months. The format has been optioned in Germany and the program rights have been pre-sold into multiple territories worldwide from Australia to Canada, with Fremantle holding format production rights in more than 20 non-U.S. territories including Spain, Italy, France, Scandinavia and Israel
Hosted by Great British Bake Off’s Mel Giedroyc, the show, which Plimsoll said drew the highest audience for a Channel 4 launch in a primetime slot in more than four years, challenges woodworking enthusiasts to create ambitious builds. Located in a woodland setting, each episode features two competitive rounds centering around a “Big Build,” which is examined by a panel of judges.
The show’s “wild ambition, sense of scale and dedication to celebrating craft and natural beauty feel the perfect fit for the American market,” according to Karen Plumb, exec producer and Head of Factual Entertainment for Plimsoll.
In a rare move for a factual-entertainment format, Channel 4 has commissioned a second and third season as it chases the next generation of hits to follow in the footsteps of The Great British Bake Off and Gogglebox.
The news comes with Hostile Planet producer Plimsoll in production across 20 shows, including highly-anticipated Nat Geo doc On The Edge With Alex Honnold.
The company, which is backed by Lloyds Development Capital, boosted sales by 65% last year to $70M and doubled EBITDA to $14M.