BBC Studios Scores C4 Doc; Ian McKellen As King Lear; MTV UK Channel Launch – Global Briefs

BBC Studios has scored its second third-party commission this week after UK broadcaster Channel 4 ordered a one-off documentary about a mass of congealed fat and waste clogging up London’s sewers. The independent producer’s Science Unit is making Fatberg Autopsy (w/t), presented by Tool Academy host Rick Edwards and looking at the engineering challenge of removing the massive waste. It comes after BBC Studios scored its first non-BBC commission, a major natural history series The Red List for Discovery, and marks its first third party order in the UK. The show will be exec produced by Paul Overton and produced by Rob Liddell. Gilly Greenslade, Commissioning Editor, Channel 4 said, “We’re delighted to have a first commission from the talented team at BBC Studios. We hope to present our inquisitive viewers with a unique and accessible exploration of an issue affecting Britain’s growing towns and cities.”