Chapter One Producers Complete Management Buyout From Anonymous Content; Take Investment From Former Fifth Season CEO Chris Rice

EXCLUSIVE: Mr Bates vs The Post Office producer Patrick Spence has taken control of AC Chapter One, completing a management buyout from Anonymous Content and UK agencies Casarotto Ramsay and United Agents.

AC Chapter One, which will be renamed Chapter One, has also taken investment from Chris Rice, the former co-CEO of Fifth Season. Rice, a Brit who was influential in the success of Severance and The Night Manager, will become Chapter One’s non-executive chairman.

Financial details were not disclosed. Rice, who left Fifth Season in January, has founded UK company Narrative Adventures, which has a stake of between 25% and 50% in Chapter One.

Chapter One, which has produced BBC series Best Interests and Netflix’s Boy Swallows Universe, was founded in 2018 by Anonymous Content, Casarotto Ramsay, and United Agents, with Sophie Gardiner (Howards End) becoming managing director. Spence joined the business from ITV Studios in 2023, when Gardiner moved to a first-look deal.

Under the management buyout, Anonymous Content, Casarotto Ramsay, and United Agents have transitioned to minority shareholders and strategic partners. Anonymous previously owned half of Chapter One, with Casarotto Ramsay and United Agents each holding a 25% stake.

The changes come at a busy time for Chapter One, which is in production on three shows: Will Smith’s limited series adaptation of Ben Macintyre’s bestselling The Siege for Channel 4, Universal Global Television, and Arte; Pete Bowker’s limited series Dragon Slayers for the BBC and Universal Global Television, starring the Emmy-winner Matthew Rhys; and Helen FitzGerald’s crime thriller Two Birds for ITV and Stan.

Spence runs Chapter One with support from Jo Evans, director of production.