www.broadcastnow.co.uk
4 April 2014
MipTV Special
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but busy” Page 25
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for the elderly Page 28
C4 takes aim at global drama Broadcaster to compete with the BBC and Sky for co-pro projects with international appeal BY PETER WHITE
Channel 4 is to invest millions in international drama co-productions in a strategy that will result in it taking on the BBC and Sky for projects with global appeal. The broadcaster has poached Red Arrow Entertainment head of drama and comedy Simon Maxwell to oversee the initiative, which will be funded by a new pot of money rather than the existing drama budget. C4 will commission a couple of high-end global dramas a year and will be looking for contemporary ideas, with a particular focus on authored, genre pieces. Head of drama Piers Wenger said acquisitions from the US and Europe had always been a key part of C4’s output, and that the UK’s international credentials mean he now wants to commission original content “that can travel”. He said: “Audiences throughout the world have become more adventurous and less provincial in their tastes, which has given UK talent a global platform. Producers and broadcasters in the States and Europe are coming for our talent. “Our strategy offers UK writers and producers a greater chance to carry on working within the UK, while allowing their work to reach a much wider international audience.” Wenger said he wanted to develop projects that could sit comfortably on premium US cable networks such as HBO and Showtime. “Channel 4 has something
Homeland: spy thriller is the kind of international drama project that would fit into the new Channel 4 strategy
Channel 4 has something akin to the US cable sensibility, which means it can produce distinctive drama Piers Wenger, Channel 4
akin to the US cable sensibility, which means we can produce distinctive drama,” he said. He added that series such as US spy thriller Homeland and French zombie drama The Returned (Les Revenants), which
were acquired by C4, would have fitted this new strategy. “Both Homeland and The Returned are high-quality and distinctive. They are both genre pieces with a twist, with characters that are intelligent, entertaining and compelling,” he added. The broadcaster will initially target British writers and producers, but is also keen to hear from international producers and to assess global scripted formats that can be remade. Maxwell will join C4 after Easter as head of international drama and report to Wenger. At Red Arrow, he was responsible for global drama productions includ-
ing conspiracy thriller Odyssey, which was commissioned by NBC, and History Channel’s Hannibal, a Halle Berry-produced miniseries about the life of the Carthaginian general. The BBC and Sky have been the dominant UK players in international drama in recent years. High-profile BBC co-pros include Parade’s End, made with HBO, and the upcoming The Honourable Woman, which is being made with Sundance. Sky recently announced major co-production deals with HBO for drama and Louie network FX for comedy, and ordered bilingual drama The Tunnel with Canal+.