Optomen Explained

Optomen
Type:Subsidiary
Location:London, United Kingdom
New York City, United States
Key People:Patricia Llewellyn
(CEO, Optomen UK)
Maria Silver
(President, Optomen USA)
Industry:Television production
Mass media
Parent:All3Media (2010–present)
Divisions:Optomen Entertainment

Optomen is an independent television production company, with Optomen Television Ltd. for the United Kingdom and Optomen Productions Inc. (launched in 2002) for the United States. It specializes in unscripted programming.

Broadcasting

United Kingdom and the United States

Optomen produces a variety of television shows for United Kingdom broadcasters including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky1, Good Food and Discovery. In the United States, Optomen has produced directly for, or co-produced with, Fox, HBO, A&E, Discovery, TLC, PBS, and Food Network.[1]

International

Optomen International is its distribution arm which sells its completed programmes worldwide, the most popular being The F Word, Kitchen Nightmares, Great British Menu, and Police Camera Action!.

List of programmes

Title BroadcasterTransmission dateEpisodesRunning time per episode
Anatomy of DesireChannel 41998449 minutes
Anatomy of DisgustChannel 42000349 minutes
Boy Meets GirlChannel 42001349 minutes
Can Animals Predict Disaster?PBS Nature160 minutes
Crazy DriversBravo20031325 minutes
D-Day DespatchesITVJune 2004515 minutes
Eating With...BBC Two830 minutes
First Catch Your Hare: Hannah GlasseBBC Four130 minutes
Food Glorious FoodITV2013960 minutes
French LeaveChannel 4September 20031030 minutes
Gangland GraveyardPBS/Channel 4160 minutes
Giada in ParadiseTelevision Food Network260 minutes
Gordon Ramsay's F WordChannel 42005960 minutes
Great British WeddingsSky One360 minutes
Green: The New Red, White & BlueDiscovery Channel190 minutes
Hell's KitchenFox200560 minutes
If You Can't Stand The HeatChannel 41999
It's A Girl ThingChannel 4November 2001624 minutes
Japanese SchoolgirlsDiscovery Science230 minutes
Jump LondonChannel 4
Kitchen CriminalsBBC Two2030 minutes
Making Slough HappyBBC TwoNovember 2005460 minutes
Market KitchenGood Food2007
Mary Queen of ShopsBBC Two460 minutes
MasterChefFOX201060 minutes
Mind of a MillionaireBBC TwoOctober 2003460 minutes
Most EvilDiscovery Channel
Matilda and the Ramsay BunchCBBC2015–Present 30 (1 upcoming series)15 minutes
Old Bear StoriesCarlton Television1993-1997310 mins
One Fat Lady, One Large LifeBBC Two1999
Police Camera Action!ITV199430 minutes
Ramsay's Kitchen NightmaresChannel 4/Fox200360 minutes
Red GoldWNET/Thirteen/Channel 4349 minutes
Return of the ChefChannel 4January 2005830 minutes
Role ReversalArts & Entertainment NetworkMarch 20031120 minutes
Saturday CookbookITV Breakfast20122144 minutes
Sex BCChannel 4July 2002249 minutes
Spirituality ShopperChannel 4June 2005
The Great British MenuBBC Two8030 minutes
The Naked ChefBBC Two1999
Two Fat LadiesBBC Two1996–19992430 minutes
Two Men in a Trench - Series 1BBC TwoSeptember 2002650 minutes
Two Men in a Trench - Series 2BBC TwoFebruary 2004660 minutes
Tyler's UltimateFood Network20032622 minutes
Worst Cooks in AmericaFood Network20102260 minutes
You’re Not the Man I MarriedLifetime1330 minutes

Publications

Optomen has also published books to accompany the following programmes: The F Word, Great British Menu, Kitchen Nightmares, Two Fat Ladies, and The Naked Chef.

Awards

The company has won many awards over the years, including an International Emmy, three BAFTAs, three Royal Television Society awards, three Indie awards, and two Glenfiddich awards.[2]

Sale to All3Media

On 13 August 2010, it was announced that Optomen had been acquired by All3Media in a £40 million takeover.[3] The agreement saw All3Media take control of Optomen along with its New York-based subsidiary Optomen Productions Inc and One Potato Two Potato, which was established as a joint venture with Gordon Ramsay.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About Optomen an international television production company . 2007-10-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070901071755/http://www.optomen.com/company/about_us . 2007-09-01 . dead .
  2. Web site: Awards Optomen has been nominated for or won . 2007-10-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070831134247/http://www.optomen.com/company/awards . 2007-08-31 . dead .
  3. News: Sweney . Mark . 2010-08-13 . All3Media finalises £40m acquisition of production company Optomen . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-11-18 . 0261-3077.