WORKING LIVES
D
BBC
We Are Who We Are
Distributor
istributor Jamie Lynn has been a fixture at the world’s TV content markets for the past two decades. Fremantle’s EVP head of EMEA distribution recently brokered deals for the upcoming BBC Three drama We Are Who We Are and BBC Two documentary series Enslaved: The Lost History of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. What does the job involve? In its simplest form, distributors sell the international rights for programmes. Channels and platforms around the world cannot produce all their own shows, so they need to acquire content. Has the job changed over time? Distribution used to be an ancillary part of the TV business, but it is now fundamental to how shows are funded and made. It’s rare now, especially for
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premium shows, that the commissioning broadcaster pays the entire budget. Producers need to bring partners on board early, including distributors, to make a show internationally viable. So, we get involved at the earliest stage and have creative conversations about what we think will work around the world. This can lead to early support in the form of a pre-sale, or even co-productions, which can be effective creative partnerships and allow the scale and ambition of high-profile projects to be realised. This has made my job that much more exciting over the past five to 10 years, as the industry has evolved. Is creativity ever compromised to make a programme more sellable? No, I think the best work results from allowing the creator to make the shows they want to make. Lots of people were gunning for the rights to My
Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante’s incredibly popular series of novels set around Naples, and there were producers in the States who wanted to set it in the US. But our partnership with HBO and RAI had it set in Naples – not only in Italian, but in the local dialect. Even in Italy, the show had subtitles. It is entirely authentic and Fremantle has sold it around the world. Surely, distributors can’t concentrate solely on high-end dramas? We’ve just sold Oscar-nominated director Luca Guadagnino’s series We Are Who We Are to the BBC – this is high art on television. But Fremantle is also one of the world’s premier gameshow and entertainment producers and distributors. We’re a company with breadth and depth, which makes the job fun. How did you become a distributor? When I was a kid, records and movies
