Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Television production |
Founded |
|
Founder |
|
Defunct | 1994 | (original)
Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Products | Television programmes |
Parent |
|
Website | Official website |
Euston Films is a British film and television production company. It was originally a subsidiary of Thames Television, and operated from 1971 to 1994, producing various series for Thames, which were screened nationally on the ITV network. Euston Films productions include Van der Valk (1977), The Sweeney (1975–1978), Minder (1979–1994), Quatermass (1979), Danger UXB (1979), and Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983). The Sweeney had two feature film spin-offs, Sweeney! and Sweeney 2, which were also produced by Euston.
In 2014, Euston Films was revived as a production company by the owner of Thames, Fremantle.
The idea for Euston Films dated back to 1965, when writer Trevor Preston and directors Jim Goddard and Terry Green were working at ABC Television. They produced a detailed proposal for a specialist production unit that shot dramas on 16mm film, rather than standard videotape. [1]
The company was founded in 1971 when three Thames executives, Lloyd Shirley, George Taylor and Brian Tesler realised there was a market for a new type of television drama. To facilitate this new-style of on-location action, Euston used two crews filming different scenes of the same programme at the same time, which ensured production times were quicker. Euston eschewed the studio videotape shooting more commonly used in British television drama at the time, and material was filmed on location using the more expensive but higher-quality 16mm film stock.
Initial shows such as Special Branch gained reasonable praise, but it was The Sweeney that first gave the company critical and commercial success. Using a storyline style known as "kick, bollock and scramble", this formula continued in such shows as Fox and Widows . In 1979, the company created Minder as a vehicle for Sweeney star Dennis Waterman, giving the company its longest-running show. In September 1986, Euston Films announced it would increase its production of theatrical films in a joint venture with Film Four International. [2]
With the demise of parent company Thames as an ITV broadcast franchise holder in 1992, Euston's output reduced. It continued to make Minder for ITV franchisee Central Independent Television, but when this series was axed in 1994, further work was not forthcoming.
Euston Films was based at Colet Court in Hammersmith, London.
In September 2024, it was announced that all staff at Euston Films were laid off, with the Euston brand and IPs remaining at Fremantle. [3]
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
1973 | Special Branch | Series 3 and 4 only |
1974–75 | Armchair Cinema | |
1975–78 | The Sweeney | |
1977 | Van der Valk | Series 3 only |
Sweeney! | Theatrical Film | |
1978 | Sweeney 2 | Theatrical Film |
Out | ||
The Sailor's Return | Theatrical Film | |
1979 | A Deadly Game | TV movie |
Danger UXB | ||
Quatermass | ||
The Knowledge | TV movie | |
The Quatermass Conclusion | Theatrical Film | |
1979–94 | Minder | Dennis Waterman (1979-1989) and Gary Webster (1991-1994) |
1980 | Fox | |
1981 | Stainless Steel and the Star Spies | TV movie |
The Flame Trees of Thika | ||
1983 | Reilly: Ace of Spies | |
The Nation's Health | ||
1983–85 | Widows | |
1985 | Monsignore Quixote | TV movie |
Storyboard: King & Castle | TV movie | |
1986 | Paradise Postponed | |
Prospects | ||
The Fourth Floor | ||
1987 | A Month in the Country | TV movie |
Bellman and True | Theatrical Film | |
Lost Belongings | ||
1988 | Jack the Ripper | |
Consuming Passions | Theatrical Film | |
The Courier | Theatrical Film | |
The Fear | ||
1989 | Dealers | Theatrical Film |
1989–90 | Capital City | |
1991 | Shrinks | |
Selling Hitler | ||
1992 | Anglo Saxon Attitudes | |
1995 | Carrington | Theatrical Film |
2018 | Hard Sun | |
2019 | Because the Night | TV movie |
Dublin Murders | ||
2020 | Bagdad Central | |
The Sister | ||
2022–24 | Wreck | |
2024 | Nightsleeper | |
TBC | Tina | In development |
In March 2014, it was announced that FremantleMedia (who had relaunched the Thames brand two years earlier) was to revive Euston Films as a production company. [4] Former BBC drama executive Kate Harwood was recruited to take charge of the company. [4] In December 2015, Euston announced it had secured a commission of a new drama series titled Hard Sun , written by Neil Cross, the creator of Luther . Filming took place in and around London, and the series was transmitted in early 2018. [5] In July 2017, Channel 4 announced a new crime thriller called Baghdad Central would be produced by Euston Films. [6]
Euston Films launched a second production company called Euston North in January 2017. While the company carries on with their work in London and the South of England, the MediaCityUK-based Euston North focuses on productions in Manchester and the North of England. [7] [8] [9] On 7 June 2019, Euston North was renamed Castlefield. [10]
Verity Ann Lambert was an English television and film producer.
Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broadcast from 09:25 Monday morning to 17:15 Friday afternoon at which time it would hand over to London Weekend Television (LWT).
The Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Dennis Waterman as his partner, Detective Sergeant George Carter. It was produced by the Thames Television subsidiary Euston Films for broadcast on the ITV network in the UK between 2 January 1975 and 28 December 1978.
Ian Kennedy Martin is a British television scriptwriter who created the action drama series The Sweeney (1975–78).
Quatermass is a 1979 British television science fiction serial. Produced by Euston Films for Thames Television, it was broadcast on the ITV network in October and November 1979. Like its three predecessors, Quatermass was written by Nigel Kneale. It is the fourth and, to date, final television serial to feature the character of Professor Bernard Quatermass, this time played by John Mills.
Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968.
Fremantle Limited, formerly FremantleMedia, is a British multinational television production and distribution company based in London. The company was founded as Pearson Television in 1993 when publishing and education company Pearson acquired the former British ITV franchisee Thames Television. Fremantle takes its name from Fremantle International, which was acquired by predecessor company All American Television in 1994. Pearson Television and Bertelsmann's CLT-UFA merged in 2000 to form the RTL Group, with Pearson Television itself being renamed FremantleMedia on 20 August of the following year.
Talkback Thames was a British television production company, a division of FremantleMedia, part of the RTL Group, which in turn is owned by Bertelsmann. It was formed by the merger of Talkback Productions and Thames Television. This merger was arranged in February 2003 and reversed in January 2012.
Widows is a British primetime television crime drama that was broadcast in 1983 and 1985, produced by Euston Films for Thames Television and aired on the ITV network. Two six-part series were written by crime writer Lynda La Plante. The executive producer for the series was Verity Lambert. In 1984 it was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series or Serial.
Kate Harwood is a British television producer. She became managing director of the revived Euston Films in summer 2014.
Special Branch is a British television series made by Thames Television for ITV and shown between 1969-1970 and 1973-1974. A police drama series, the action was centred on members of the Special Branch counterintelligence and counterterrorism department of the London Metropolitan Police. The first two series starred Derren Nesbitt, before the programme went through an overhaul, with George Sewell taking over as the new lead.
ITV Studios Limited is a British multinational television media company owned by British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcasters, and is based in 12 countries across 60 production labels, with local production offices in the UK, US, Belgium, Australia, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Israel, France, Spain and Scandinavia.
Albert Moses KStJ was a Sri Lankan actor based in the United Kingdom. He is best known for playing the role of Ranjeet Singh, a student in Jeremy Brown's EFL class in the British sitcom Mind Your Language and one of four students to appear in all four series.
Ted Childs is a British television producer, screenwriter, and director.
Prospects is a British television comedy-drama series written by Alan Janes and originally released on Channel 4 in 1986. The show was created by Euston Films, who were known for producing gritty dramas such as The Sweeney and Minder. Prospects followed the comic exploits of two East End 'geezer' characters, Jimmy 'Pincy' Pince and Billy 'Bill' Pearson, played by Gary Olsen and Brian Bovell respectively, Prospects showcases the pair's trials and tribulations of making a living in London's Isle of Dogs.
Jim Goddard was an English film and TV director who was born in Battersea, London. He directed episodes of many UK TV series such as Public Eye, Callan, Special Branch, The Sweeney, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, The Bell and Holby City. He may be best known outside England for the TV series Kennedy starring Martin Sheen or directing the film Shanghai Surprise as a vehicle for newlyweds Sean Penn and Madonna.
Dublin Murders is a crime drama television series created by Sarah Phelps. It is based on the Dublin Murder Squad books by Tana French, commissioned by the BBC for BBC One and Starz, with RTÉ later joining the project. The first series, consisting of eight episodes, is adapted from In the Woods (2007) and The Likeness (2008).
This is a timeline of the history of the British broadcaster Thames Television and its predecessor Associated-Rediffusion. Between them, they provided the ITV weekday service for London from 1955 to 1992, after which Thames continued as an independent production company until 2003.
Armchair Cinema is a British television drama anthology series of one-off plays that ran on the ITV network 1974–1975. It was produced by Euston Films in conjunction with Thames Television. The series was a spin-off from the long running anthology series Armchair Theatre. A total of six episodes were produced over the course of one series.