Sony Pictures Television on Tuesday unveiled the launch of Hot Sauce, a Belfast-based production company run by investigative journalists-turned drama creatives Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, known for such projects as Netflix film Rogue Agent and BBC police drama Blue Lights.
“The backing from SPT will supercharge Hot Sauce and see it launched as a full production company,” Sony said. “As a majority-owned company, Hot Sauce joins the SPT International Production group portfolio, alongside fellow scripted companies Left Bank Pictures, Eleven, Eleventh Hour Films, and Cardiff-based Bad Wolf, and will be SPT’s second production company in Belfast, alongside non-scripted and formats specialist Stellify Media.”
Lawn and Patterson met while working for the BBC’s flagship current affairs show Panorama. They then co-wrote hit BBC drama The Salisbury Poisonings, which Sony highlighted became the BBC’s most-watched drama of 20201. Their first feature film Rogue Agent, starring James Norton and Gemma Arterton, was released on Netflix and in IFC cinemas in the U.S. in 2022.
Their original series Blue Lights about policing in contemporary Belfast has been a big hit for the BBC, with both seasons put out so far drawing big audiences. Lawn and Patterson, represented by United Agents in the U.K. and WME in the U.S., will continue with their writing commitments on the show.
The investment by SPT shows “how much faith this global media powerhouse has in the future of Belfast as a creative hub in television and film,” Lawn and Patterson said.
“This deal was a yes on multiple levels for us at SPT,” said Matthew Justice, executive vp, head of U.K. & Europe, Sony Pictures Television. “First, it’s an investment in Declan and Adam. We are massive admirers of their work. Finding creative talent that have got the chops, ability, and ambition to grow a business around their creativity is always an enticing proposition. They have a unique, analytical approach to crafting drama and have had everyone knocking on their door thanks to the success of Blue Lights, so to have this opportunity to bring them into the SPT family and build the next chapter of Hot Sauce with them, is tremendously exciting.”
He added: “This is also an investment in the industry in Belfast. We have long had presence in the Northern Ireland creative community through Stellify, but we know that the scripted industry there is brimming with talent and potential. This deal further builds out our national portfolio and, alongside Bad Wolf’s base in Wales and Left Bank’s production work in Scotland on Outlander and Department Q, highlights the creative brilliance across our entire national production landscape.”
