Sky Original Gangs of London returns for a second series

• Record breaking show produced by Pulse Films in association with SISTER for Sky Studios
  
• AMC boards as co-producer for second series

The inner workings of the largest criminal organisation in London are set to be unearthed again as Sky announces series two of its record-breaking Sky Original drama, Gangs of London. The series has been praised for its contemporary take on the gangster genre and cinematic fight sequences. The Times described it as an “outrageously thrilling drama…from rare talent”. Fans and TV critics have also drawn parallels with Game of Thrones for its visceral action, family saga and shades-of-grey morality; NME said it’s... “Game of Thrones, but without the dragons”.

The first series is the biggest Sky Original drama launch on Sky Atlantic of the past five years with a 7-day cumulative audience of over 2.23m* viewers for the opening episode overtaking other smash-hit Sky Originals including Chernobyl and Save Me. Gangs of London is also Sky’s most binged premiere boxset this year with just under a million choosing to watch to the ninth and final episode of the series within two weeks and has had over 16.6m downloads across the series so far.

Gangs of London was created by visionary award-winning filmmaker of The Raid film franchise, Gareth Evans and his creative partner Matt Flannery. The series is produced by Pulse Films in association with SISTER for Sky Studios, filming on Series two is planned for next year, with the series returning in 2022.

In the meantime, the drama is set to explode on to screens around the world as AMC has picked up rights for series one of the smash hit in the US and will also join as a co-producer for Series two.

Viewers in the US will be able to watch Gangs of London Series one this autumn on AMC, with the show also scheduled to air on Sky in Germany and Italy this summer.

Zai Bennett, Sky UK’s Managing Director of Content, said: “Not only is Gangs of London Sky’s most binged premiere box-set this year, it’s the biggest original drama launch on Sky Atlantic of the past five years. It’s dark, dangerous and we are thrilled it is coming back for a second series. We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome AMC to our gang for Series two alongside the teams at Pulse Films, SISTER and Sky Studios. Will the Wallace family rise again, will the Dumanis remain loyal to their new allies and who is Elliot really working for? All these questions and more will be waiting for Sky viewers when Gangs of London returns to screens in 2022.”

Dan McDermott, President of Original Programming for AMC and Co-President of AMC Studios, said: “Gangs of London is a cinematic thrill ride that set screens ablaze with a stellar cast, elevated drama and epic storylines, and we couldn’t be more excited to raise the pulse of our audiences with this explosive crime series. We’re grateful for the opportunity to partner with Sky Studios, Pulse Films and SISTER to continue to push the boundaries on a bold new season of the series.”

Thomas Benski, CEO & Founder, Pulse Films, said: “The overwhelming reaction and record-breaking success in the UK of the first season of Gangs of London has been phenomenal, and we are thrilled to continue this epic journey with such riveting characters for season two with our amazing cast, crew and partners. We look forward to teaming up again with our friends at Sky and to welcoming AMC on board as our US broadcast partner. AMC is the perfect home for our show, and we cannot wait for audiences stateside to experience series one this Autumn.”

Gangs of London Series two was commissioned by Zai Bennett, Sky UK’s Managing Director of Content and Cameron Roach, Director of Drama at Sky Studios, with Gabriel Silver as the Executive Producer for Sky Studios.

Thomas Benski and Lucas Ochoa are the executive producers for Pulse Films alongside Jane Featherstone for SISTER

NBCUniversal Global Distribution and Pulse Films will share further international licensing rights for the show.

Gangs of London critical appraisal

The Metro ***** “epic… with more than a touch of Quentin Tarantino”

The Times “outrageously thrilling drama…from rare talent”

Esquire “The channel’s biggest series since Game of Thrones”

Radio Times **** “The Godfather meets The Raid”

Evening Standard “this show guarantees to pack a punch”

Den of Geek “A massive, cinematic, complex saga”

Financial Times ****

The Times ****

The Observer ****

HEAT *****

Daily Mail ****

EMPIRE **** 

Notes to Editors

*Based on BARB 7-day cumulative data for Gangs of London episode 1, collected on transmissions from 22nd – 29th April. This includes linear viewing, catch up, VoD and repeats and is recorded across all compatible Sky devices.

Media Contacts

Sky: Victoria Etaghene victoria.etaghene@sky.uk / Harrison Kelly harrison.kelly@sky.uk

AMC: Sarah Chaikin Sarah.Chaikin@amcnetworks.com / Olivia Dupuis Olivia.Dupuis@amcnetworks.com

Pulse Films: Can Salahi can.salahi@pulsefilms.co.uk

Sister: Alex Wells aw@sister.net / Suman Randhawa sr@sister.net

About Sky

With 24 million customers across seven countries, Sky is Europe’s leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of the Comcast group. Our 32,000 employees help connect our customers to the very best entertainment, sports, news, arts and to our own local, original content.

Following the success of Sky originals like Chernobyl, we plan to double our investment in original content by 2024. We’re also developing a new TV and movie studio, Sky Studios Elstree, which is expected to lead to the creation of over 2,000 new jobs and generate an additional £3 billion of production investment in UK creative sector in the first five years alone.

Our technology allows customers to watch what they want, when they want, how they want, and as we connect millions of families to content they love, we believe it is our responsibility to do it safely. That’s why we offer services like Sky Broadband Buddy and the Sky Kids app. And our online streaming service, NOW TV, brings viewers all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of a contract-free service.

We also believe that a company of our scale has a responsibility that goes beyond our business, and into the community. We recently announced a series of commitments to help tackle racial injustice and improve diversity and inclusion. To ensure the commitments are delivered, Sky will invest £10million per year across its markets for each of the next three years. We’re committed to being Europe’s first net zero carbon entertainment company by 2030 – two decades before we have to – and we’re an inclusive employer recognised by The Times and Stonewall for our commitment to diversity.

About AMC

AMC is home to some of the most popular and acclaimed programs on television. AMC was the first basic cable network to ever win the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series with Mad Men in 2008, which then went on to win the coveted award four years in a row, before Breaking Bad won it in 2013 and 2014. The network’s series The Walking Dead is the highest-rated series in cable history. AMC’s current original drama series are Better Call Saul, Dispatches from Elsewhere, Fear the Walking Dead, NOS4A2, Quiz, Soulmates, The Terror, The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: World Beyond and the recently greenlit 61st Street, Kevin Can F Himself, Pantheon and National Anthem. AMC also explores authentic worlds and discussion with original shows like Talking Dead, AMC Visionaries and Ride with Norman Reedus. AMC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc.

and its sister networks include IFC, SundanceTV, BBC America and WE tv. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile.

About Sky Studios

Sky Studios brings to screen unique stories from the very best talent in Europe.

We develop, produce and fund original drama, comedy and documentary for Sky’s 24m customers and beyond, with 52 scripted shows already in production. Building on the success of critically-acclaimed Sky originals including Emmy-winning Chernobyl, Bafta-winning Patrick Melrose and international hits Babylon Berlin and Riviera, Sky Studios is the new creative home of Sky originals, such as The Third Day with Jude Law, ZeroZeroZero from the makers of Gomorrah and The New Pope directed by Academy Award-winning director Paolo Sorrentino.

We’re an agile Studio, seeking out the best untold stories from new voices while working in creative partnership with today’s best writers, producers and on-screen talent to bring viewers stories they wouldn’t find anywhere else.

With commissioning talent and production capability across the UK, Germany and Italy, we understand local tastes across Europe better than anyone else and have plans to more than double our investment in original content by 2024, fully supported and backed by Comcast NBC Universal.

We’re also developing a new TV and movie studio, Sky Studios Elstree, which is expected to lead to the creation of over 2,000 new jobs and generate an additional £3 billion of production investment in UK creative sector in the first five years alone.

Sky Studios invests in the cultural economy and global production sector with equity stakes in nine production companies in the UK and the US, including Great British Bake-Off creator Love Productions, and the premiere reality crime producer in the US, Jupiter Entertainment, creator of long-running hit Snapped. Sky Studios has invested in high quality factual specialists Blast Films and True North Productions; entertainment and format expert Znak & Co (US & UK); natural history producer True to Nature; drama producers The Lighthouse and Longboat; and growth businesses Sugar Films, Chrysalis Vision, and Talos Films (US).

Sky Studios launched in June 2019. The senior leadership team is Chief Executive Officer Gary Davey, Chief Commercial Officer Jane Millichip, Chief Finance Officer Caroline Cooper, Director of Drama UK Cameron Roach, Director of Comedy UK Jon Mountague, Director Original Production Sky Italia Nils Hartmann, and Director Original Productions Sky Deutschland Marcus Ammon.

About NBCUniversal Global Distribution

NBCUniversal Global Distribution is responsible for the licensing and distribution of NBCUniversal product to all forms of television and new media platforms in the U.S., Canada and in over 200 territories internationally. NBCUniversal’s content portfolio includes a vast and diverse library of more than 4,500 feature films and 120,000 television episodes, including current and classic titles, non-scripted programming, kids, sports, news, long-form and short-form programming from Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Universal Television, UCP, NBCUniversal International Studios, Sky Studios, NBC Late Night properties, DreamWorks Animation, Telemundo, and more, as well as locally produced content from around the world. Global Distribution is a division of Comcast NBCUniversal.