Theatre & Film Producer Patrick Daly's Caledonia Productions Signs First-look Deal With Fremantle's Passenger

Acclaimed theatre and film producer Patrick Daly and his production house Caledonia Productions (August: Osage County, UNA) has signed a first-look deal with Passenger, which is headed by its founder Richard Brown (This England, True Detective, Catch-22). 

The two-year deal with Passenger, which now sits within Fremantle’s Global Drama division, will see Daly and Brown collaborate on select existing Passenger and Caledonia film and television projects in addition to building a new slate of projects to co-produce. Fremantle will handle global distribution. 

Both Passenger and Caledonia are based in New York and London.

Patrick Daly, Caledonia Productions, said: “I have known, and admired, Richard Brown and Fremantle’s Christian Vesper for many years, so when this partnership opportunity arose, it really was an easy decision to make. Fremantle is the most exciting home for world class storytelling, and coupled with Richard’s superb taste, passion for writers, and ambition for Passenger, makes it the perfect place for Caledonia to expand its TV and Film capabilities.

As we continue to bring bold and original work to the stage, we will be looking to do the same for the screen. The expertise, support and global infrastructure from this deal provides Caledonia with the springboard to do just that, and we eagerly look forward to seeing what we will cook up together.”

Richard Brown, Passenger, added: “I’ve been keen to collaborate with Patrick for a long time, he’s a highly talented producer with excellent taste and invaluable creative instincts. Now that Fremantle has become Passenger’s permanent home, we’ve been looking for exciting opportunities to ramp up and expand our capacity to produce a growing number of quality film and TV projects. This deal with Patrick and Caledonia is a major step towards achieving that goal.”

Christian Vesper, CEO Global Drama at Fremantle, commented: “As we continue our successful drama and film journey, having likeminded partners like Patrick becomes of even greater importance. His work, and relationships throughout the theatre, tv and film industry are admired along with his incredible ability for bringing his bold, intelligent, theatrical vision to the screen. We are honoured to welcome him into the Fremantle family.”

With over 15-years’ experience in producing theatre in the US and UK, Daly has produced a wide range of celebrated work for the stage, including Lucy Kirkwood’s Chimerica, Katori Hall's Olivier Award winning The Mountaintop, Nina Raine’s Tribes and Lucy Prebble’s The Effect. 

On the feature films and television side, Daly’s credits include the Pulitzer-winning August: Osage County, starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, UNA starring Rooney Mara, Ben Mendelsohn and Riz Ahmed, and Galveston starring Ben Foster. The feature film Marshall Street is currently in development with Film 4 to be directed by Nadia Latif. The eight-part comedy series SHRINK, developed and Executive Produced by Daly, is currently streaming on Peacock.

Separate to the first look deal with Passenger, Daly will continue his live theatrical stage work as a producing consultant overseeing the live division of EON Productions. Recent EON credits include the Broadway production of Macbeth (starring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga), and the stage musical Sing Street adapted from the John Carney film. 

In December 2022, Fremantle announced the acquisition of Passenger, with the independent production company becoming a fully owned label, sitting within Fremantle’s Global Drama division. As part of the deal, Brown has also taken on a new creative role across Global Drama to help drive Fremantle’s efforts in the development and production of high calibre TV and film projects.

A recent example includes a collaboration on Michael Winterbottom’s new drama series Fall of the God of Cars, which tells the incredible story of Carlos Ghosn, the Brazilian-Lebanese CEO of Nissan and Renault, who was arrested in Japan and one year later orchestrated his own escape to Beirut, hidden in a music case on a private jet.

About Patrick Daly | Caledonia Productions

Patrick Daly is a Scottish stage, television and film producer and the founder of New York based CALEDONIA PRODUCTIONS. With over 15 years’ experience in producing theatre in both the US and UK, Patrick has been fortunate enough to produce a wide range of celebrated work for the stage, which include multiple Tony and Olivier Award winning productions. 

Patrick also oversees the live division for EON PRODUCTIONS, recent credits including Broadway production of Macbeth (starring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga) and the stage musical Sing Street adapted from the John Carney film.

Caledonia Productions, in partnership with Neal Street Productions, recently produced the stage musical Local Hero, adapted by David Greig and composed by Mark Knopfler, at the Chichester Festival Theatre and the recently announced stage adaptation of the highly acclaimed feature Wild Rose starring Jessie Buckley that is being adapted by Bafta winning screenwriter Nicole Taylor and directed by John Tiffany (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child). 

On the feature films side, Daly’s credits include the Pulitzer-winning August: Osage County, starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, UNA starring Rooney Mara, Ben Mendelsohn and Riz Ahmed, and Galveston starring Ben Foster. The feature film Marshall Street is currently in development with Film 4 to be directed by Nadia Latif. The eight-part comedy series SHRINK, developed and Executive Produced by Daly, is currently streaming on Peacock. 

Patrick is also a founder of the Theatre Leadership Project ( TTLP) which aims to instill change in the American theatre by supporting BIPOC leadership. 

About Passenger / Richard Brown 

Scottish born producer Brown was the driving force behind HBO’s globally successful anthology series True Detective and has served as executive producer on all four seasons of the critically acclaimed, multiple award-winning show. Brown developed, and executive produced the highly acclaimed Hulu / Sky Italia / Channel 4 limited series Catch-22, starring George Clooney, Kyle Chandler, Christopher Abbott, and Hugh Laurie.

Brown is also known for producing the Netflix action-drama Outlaw King, directed by David Mackenzie, and starring Chris Pine and Michael Winterbottom’s acclaimed drama THIS ENGLAND starring Kenneth Branagh as former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Brown has recently completed directing and producing a four-part documentary series telling the story of the new Basketball Africa League, an elite pan-African sports league created by the NBA in 2021. 

About Fremantle

Fremantle is one of the world’s largest and most successful creators, producers and distributors of Entertainment, Drama & Film and Documentaries.   

Operating in 27 territories we are a proudly independent group of content creators. We produce and deliver high-quality multi-genre IP including some of the biggest entertainment formats, most watched international dramas, award winning films and hard-hitting documentaries, amplifying local stories on a global scale.   

From Idols to This England, The Price is Right to The Hand of God, The Farmer Wants A Wife to Arctic Drift, Family Feud to My Brilliant Friend and Bones & All to Planet Sex our focus is simple – we create and deliver irresistible entertainment.   

We are also a world leader in digital and branded entertainment with more than 470 million fans across 1,500 social channels and over 34 billion views per year across all platforms.   

Fremantle is part of RTL Group, a global leader across broadcast, content and digital, itself a division of the international media giant Bertelsmann.