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Kali Lindsay

The rise of Fulwell73: From Sunderland AFC to James Corden and Carpool Karaoke with Adele

The Late, Late Show with James Corden came to an end this week after eight years.

The British actor became a well-known face on the other side of the pond but it also helped propel Sunderland-inspired production company Fullwel73 into the Hollywood spotlight.

Fullwel73 co-produce The Late, Late Show along with CBS Productions, and are also heavily involved for the show's popular segment 'Carpool Karaoke' and produce the spin off for Apple TV.

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Producer Ben Winston, who set up the company with brothers Gabe and Ben Tuner, along with their cousin Leo Pearlman, hopes the popular segment will live on.

Speaking to Metro, he said: "‘I really hope so. I love making that show over on [Apple] and we’re launching another season.

‘We’ve done about 60 episodes, so six seasons, we launched a new season coming up….Brian Cox from Succession has done one with Alan Cumming and there are some major stars coming. I hope people that haven’t watched the Apple Carpool series will go check it out.

"Like Snoop Dogg doing it with Matthew McConaughey, Jason Sudeikis has done it with the Muppets. It’s worth watching that!

"There’s been such amazing people that have done that show, I’m really excited for it continuing and I hope it does for many years."

Winston recently revealed that the Late Late Show team was close to bagging the one and only Beyonce on the hit segment.

It was Winston's friendship with Corden that saw the group first work together on Comic Relief and doing Smithy Sketches which led to James Corden’s World Cup Live on ITV.

After heading state side, the production company then gained further recognition when they produced FREINDS: The Reunion which aired in 2021.

Corden, who is a fifth partner in the company, was the host of the hotly anticipated show which saw Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc reunite for the first time.

Fulwell73 now produces the hit reality Hulu and Disney+ show The Kardashians, and are preparing to release the four part documentary Ed Sheeran: The Sum of it All on May 3.

Ben Winston, Leo Pearlman, Gabe Turner and Ben Turner of Fulwell73 (Getty Images Europe)

Founded in 2005, the name Fulwell 73 comes from one of the old stands at Sunderland’s old Roker Park Stadium and then 73 for 1973, the year Sunderland famously beat Leeds to win the FA Cup.

The company first gained critical acclaim for the documentary ‘In The Hands of Gods’, which follows five English freestyle footballers as they try to raise money by showcasing their skills, in order to fund a trip to Buenos Aires to meet their idol Diego Maradona.

It was the documentary Sunderland Til I Die' - which followed their beloved Sunderland AFC during the side’s worst season that gained them a North East following after the documentary

Other successful documentaries include 'The Class of '92', which centres on the rise of six young Manchester United footballers – David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes – and details their careers for Manchester United starting in 1992.

The company also unveiled plans for film studios, creating one of Europe’s largest facilities, bringing 8,450 jobs to Sunderland.

FulwellCain Studios, a joint venture between global entertainment company Fulwell 73 and Cain International, has will create the Crown Works Studios.

At the time, the five partners said: “We are unified in our belief that there is a unique opportunity to bring further high end production to the UK through this ambitious Sunderland based studio project; putting the region on the map as a global production destination.”

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