Emma Stone, Dave McCary’s Fruit Tree Production Company Inks First-Look TV Deal With Fremantle

Fremantle has secured a first look and development deal in television with Emma Stone and Dave McCary’s Fruit Tree production company.

Fremantle will become the primary home for all of Fruit Tree’s scripted television projects and unscripted docuseries, with the producer working closely with Fremantle’s Global Drama division and international distribution team to grow its slate and expand into new territories.

The Oscar-winning actress and her producer-director husband founded the company in 2020, with its first TV projects including The Curse, starring Stone, Benny Safdie and Nathan Fielder, and Fantasmas with Julio Torres. They are next set to produce The Yogurt Shop Murders, a doc series directed by Margaret Brown for HBO.

Fruit Tree’s film résumé include Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, Torres’ Problemista and Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow. Among their upcoming films is Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia, starring Stone or Focus Features, Checkmate, directed by Nathan Fielder for A24, Eisenberg’s untitled musical comedy starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti, as well as and McCary’s untitled feature film with Universal.

“We’re thrilled to join forces with the brilliant team at Fremantle, a studio that continues to be at the forefront of independent television with a deep commitment to inventive storytelling,” Stone, McCary and Ali Herting said. “We’re so excited to build a creative home together and develop original narratives that challenge expectation and resonate with audiences worldwide.”

The partnership was spearheaded by Christian Vesper, CEO of global drama and film, COO of global drama and film Seb Shorr, and president of De Maio Entertainment Lorenzo De Maio. The deal was negotiated by Fran Denny (VP commercial global drama) and Jodie Rosello (EVP scripted business & legal affairs) on behalf of Fremantle and PJ Shapiro (JSSK) acting on behalf of Fruit Tree.

“I’m so thrilled to be welcoming Emma, Dave and the whole team at Fruit Tree to the Fremantle fold,” Vesper added. “The combination of Emma’s indisputable talent and Dave’s sharp creative sensibility makes them a force to be reckoned with and I look forward to pushing boundaries even further together.”