E4 has agreed a major first-look development deal with the inimitable producers behind YouTube hit Wall of Comedy, and co-producers and stars of viral sensation, Shiro’s Story, a three-part drama told mainly via rap in addition to spoken dialogue. Inspired by real-life events in south London, the drama has amassed over 17 million combined views and a huge dedicated following.
The deal will see multiple developments across entertainment and drama, working closely with Wall of Comedy founders, Percelle Ascott and Joivan Wade - who write, produce and star in their work - and managing director and executive producer, Tafara Makopa.
E4’s relationship with Ascott and Wade goes back to 2013 when they starred in E4 series, Youngers, after the huge success of their YouTube series, Mandem on the Wall.
Wade and Ascott launched the online platform Wall of Comedy in 2015. Spanning YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, it has produced numerous original and viral comedy formats including; Group Chat, Questions with Yung Filly, Who’s the Daddy, Who’s Got Game, as well as short-form features with some of the UK’s biggest social media content creators. Since then, the platform has achieved over 3.5 billion views, reaching over 120,000,000 people per week.
Wade and Ascott then founded Wall of Production in 2018. It is part of the Wall of Entertainment, a larger entertainment group also founded by the pair. In addition to Shiro’s Story, recent credits include UK Rapper Yxng Bane’s short feature film - HBK: The Prequel, Footasylum’s Travel Guide and Does The Shoe Fit, and We Got Game, a high-octane celebrity Football show, commissioned by Super Soccer.
As well as both starring in Shiro’s Story, Ascott is also the lead in Netflix series The Innocents, whilst Wade is the lead in Warner Bros. and DC Comics’ new series, Doom Patrol.
Joivan Wade, Co-founder and Creative Director says: "This is a great time for us and now working in partnership with E4 is the opportunity we have been looking for. Working and nurturing great talent within our space, and creating a multitude of entertaining online formats has always been our passion and to have such a fantastic broadcaster who believes in us to do the same for television is amazing."
Percelle Ascott, Co-founder and Creative Director says: “We’re delighted to have secured this deal with a partner who shares our same ethos and has a reputation for producing award-winning programming”
Tafara Makopa, Managing Director and Executive Producer adds: “The team at E4 have shown their commitment to what we can do and with our ever expanding slate of original shows, we cannot wait to start creating some incredible content together.”
Karl Warner, Controller of E4 adds: “We’re thrilled to have struck this unique deal with Wall of Comedy. From Shiro’s Story to Questions with Yung Filly, they’ve been part of some of the most innovative storytelling and talent finds over the last few years. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next for E4.”
Pictured L - R: Tafara Makopa, Joivan Wade and Percelle Ascott.
