Sky Studios has signed a first-look script deal with award-winning comedy and entertainment indie Ranga Bee.

Founded by RTS-winner and BAFTA-nominated comedian Romesh Ranganathan and EMMY-winning exec producer and director Benjamin Green, Ranga Bee will work directly with Sky Studios to develop new projects for Sky’s 24m customers across Europe and beyond.

Co-developed projects will be Exec Produced by Jon Mountague, Director of Comedy at Sky Studios. The development funding will also enable Ranga Bee to attract talent to work on the committed projects for Sky Studios.

Co-developed projects will be distributed by NBCUniversal Global Distribution on behalf of Sky Studios.

Ranga Bee already has a strong relationship with Sky following two successful seasons of The Reluctant Landlord, a semi-autobiographical sitcom in which Romesh inherits a pub he doesn’t really want, and Romesh Presents a series of 10 shorts for new and emerging comedy talent on Sky One.

Romesh is also a regular panellist on Sky One’s A League of Their Own, winner of the 2019 BAFTA for Comedy Entertainment Programme.

Gary Davey, CEO of Sky Studios, said:“Romesh has been entertaining Sky customers for years with his unique style of humour and I couldn’t be more excited about this new deal with Romesh, Ben and the whole Ranga Bee team. The Reluctant Landlord is a brilliant show and I look forward to seeing what new scripted comedies we can produce together.”

Romesh Ranganathan and Benjamin Green, founders of Ranga Bee, said: “We set up Ranga Bee to make great comedy shows with both new and established talent and we’re thrilled to be partnering with Sky Studios to help further that ambition. We look forward to making innovative and genuinely funny comedy and comedy dramas together. This is also a great opportunity for Romesh to pretend to support other talent.”

Established in June 2019, Sky Studios is rapidly becoming the leading commissioning and production powerhouse in Europe. With 52 scripted shows currently in production across Europe, and first look deals in place with a range of indies, Sky Studios ambition is to bring unique stories to screen from the very best talent in Europe.

Last year, Sky announced plans for Sky Studios Elstree – a major new TV and film studio with 14 sound stages and attracting £3bn of production spend over the first five years alone.

Set to open in 2022, Sky Studios Elstree represents a significant new investment in the UK and European creative economy by Sky, Comcast and NBCUniversal and will lead to the creation of at least 2,000 jobs.