US production and investment company Wheelhouse has entered into a content partnership with UK-based theme park and attraction operator Merlin Entertainment.
Under the agreement, Wheelhouse and Merlin will develop unscripted entertainment programming inspired by Merlin's appeal across reality, documentary and game show genres.
Merlin operates more than 140 attractions in 23 countries around the world. In the UK, these include Madame Tussauds, the London Eye, Warwick Castle, Sea Life, the London Dungeon and Legoland, as well as theme parks such as Alton Towers, Chessington World of Adventure and Thorpe Park.
Glenn Hugill, Wheelhouse's chief content officer and president of the company's UK division, will oversee the Wheelhouse-Merlin initiative.
Scott O'Neill, CEO of Merlin, said: “Through creative innovation and storytelling, our partnership with Wheelhouse will reinvent our stories, characters and IP on the world's largest platform of television and entertainment programming. “It will be possible to bring a new dimension to the world.”
Earlier this week, Wheelhouse secured a minority investment from a group led by Alignment Growth. This capital injection marks Wheelhouse's first external capital raise since its founding in 2018 and will enable the New York-based company to grow and build its infrastructure through strategic M&A.