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The state of U.K. TV production “has been really tough, and anybody who’s been in production these days would echo that,” Cécile Frot-Coutaz, the CEO of Sky Studios and chief content officer of Sky, owned by Comcast, told the Media & Telecoms 2025 & Beyond Conference in London on Tuesday.

“I think it’s been tough for a number of reasons,” she shared at the event, organized by Deloitte and Enders Analysis, . “Less has been commissioned, although I think if you look back over a period of 10 [or 15] years, I’m not sure there’s less today…. So, you know, we had an amazing bubble. Everybody got used to the bubble, and obviously now we’re sort of coming back down to volumes that are more akin to those that were experienced 15 years ago.”

Also, “there’s been a funding issue, because the U.S. hasn’t been co-producing British content nearly in the same way,...

Netflix is proudly commissioning U.K. programming with a focus on local audiences while being happy if they also end up traveling the world and becoming global hits, a top executive of the streamer told the Media & Telecoms 2025 & Beyond Conference in London, organized by Deloitte and Enders Analysis, on Tuesday.

“Maybe this is finally my chance [to debunk a] myth,” Larry Tanz, vp, content, Europe, Middle East and Africa (Emea) at Netflix, told the event with a grin. “I understand that there might be people who have an interest in saying we’re commissioning for international audiences, but they all know it’s just not true,” pointing to the likes of hit series Adolescence. “We commission for the U.K. audience, first and foremost. So, we are absolutely focused on the local audience first and foremost, and that’s our whole investment approach,” including in other markets.

“Am I happy and proud of...

Saturday Night Live is set to expand its iconic sketch comedy format across the Atlantic, with a UK adaptation premiering in 2026. The British version, titled Saturday Night Live UK, will be produced by Sky Studios in collaboration with SNL creator Lorne Michaels, who will serve as executive producer. The show aims to replicate the original’s live, fast-paced style, featuring an all-British cast of comedians, celebrity guest hosts, and musical performances.

Sky Studios CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz expressed enthusiasm about the project, stating, “For over 50 years, Saturday Night Live has held a unique position in TV and in our collective culture, reflecting and creating the global conversation under the masterful comedic guidance of Lorne Michaels.”

She added that the UK adaptation will bring this legacy to British audiences, broadcasting live from London on Saturday nights. ​

While previous international versions of SNL in countries like France, Japan and Italy were short-lived, the...

A recreation of the main stage at “Saturday Night Live,” as it appears at the Chicago at Museum of Broadcast Communications. (Photo by Steven Dahlman via Wikimedia Commons)

Comcast’s Sky Group is working with “Saturday Night Live” creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels on a British adaptation of the light night sketch comedy show.

“Saturday Night Live UK” is expected to launch in 2026, Comcast said on Thursday. The format will remain essentially the same, involving a mixture of unpredictable sketch comedy and performances by musical guests, but fronted by British comedians and bands.

“For over 50 years Saturday Night Live has held a unique position in TV and in our collective culture, reflecting and creating the global conversation, all under the masterful comedic guidance of Lorne Michaels,” Cécile Frot-Coutaz, the CEO of Sky Studios and the company’s Chief Content Officer, said in a statement. “The show has discovered and...

Saturday Night Live is coming to the United Kingdom!

On Thursday (April 10), it was announced that a British version of the legendary sketch comedy show will be premiering in 2026.

Creator and producer Lorne Michaels is also set to executive produce the upcoming UK version, which will air on channels Sky Max and Now.

“A star-studded lineup of hosts will take to the stage to declare, ‘Live from London, it’s Saturday Night!’ in this brand-new edition of the programme,” a press release from Sky read.

Keep reading to find out more…

It continued, “The London-based series will follow the same live, fast-paced style that has made the show a cultural phenomenon with iconic hosts, musical guests and a core cast of the funniest British comedians around.”

Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios, also made a statement about the upcoming show.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Lorne and the...

It took 50 years, but “Saturday Night Live” is ready to invade the United Kingdom with “SNL UK” premiering in 2026 on Sky Max and Now.

Sky, which is owned by NBC parent company Comcast, announced the British iteration of the late night sketch comedy show on Thursday. Original “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels is set to executive produce this new version while, of course, maintaining his same role stateside.

“For over 50 years Saturday Night Live has held a unique position in TV and in our collective culture, reflecting and creating the global conversation all under the masterful comedic guidance of Lorne Michaels,” Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Sky Studios CEO and Cco of Sky, said in a statement. “The show has discovered and nurtured countless comedy and musical talents over the years and we are thrilled to be partnering with Lorne and the SNL team to bring an all-British version of the show to U.

Saturday Night Live is headed across the Atlantic.

British broadcaster Sky announced Thursday that an international edition of late-night sketch series Saturday Night Live — fittingly titled Saturday Night Live UK — will begin airing in the UK and Ireland in 2026.

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Further details on the spinoff — including cast members, hosts, musical guests and an exact premiere date — will roll out in the coming months,...

Saturday Night Live is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. As part of the celebrations, which included a star-studded special episode last month, the series is crossing the pond for a new UK version. First airing in 1975, the live sketch comedy series has been a staple of American TV for 50 years. Some other countries have already joined in on the fun, with Japan launching its own version in 2012, and Canada hosting its own version from 2014-2015. Now, it's the UK's turn.

According to Deadline, a UK version of Saturday Night Live is officially in the works. The series was initially teased three years ago, with Sky developing the UK version. Now, Saturday Night Live UK has been given the green light. The new version is slated to debut in 2026, although a more precise release date has not yet been revealed. Lorne Michales, who created the series back in 1975, is executive producing the new version.

Saturday Night Live is crossing the pond. The late-night sketch comedy series, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, will debut a British edition on Sky in 2026.

Creator Lorne Michaels will executive produce Saturday Night Live UK. It will be produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television Alternative Studio’s UK production team.

According a press release, the London-based series will follow “the same live, fast-paced style that has made the show a cultural phenomenon with iconic hosts, musical guests, and a core cast of the funniest British comedians around.”

“For...

NBC’s comedy institution “Saturday Night Live” (“SNL”) is crossing the pond to launch a British edition in partnership with Sky.

The iconic late-night sketch show, which has been a cornerstone of American pop culture since 1975, will debut “Saturday Night Live U.K.” in 2026, bringing its signature mix of political satire, celebrity impersonations and musical performances to British and Irish audiences.

“SNL” mastermind Lorne Michaels, who created the original NBC series, will serve as executive producer for the U.K. adaptation while continuing to steer the American mothership. The London-based version will follow the same live format that has made “SNL” a cultural juggernaut for nearly five decades.

“For over 50 years ‘Saturday Night Live’ has held a unique position in TV and in our collective culture, reflecting and creating the global conversation all under the masterful comedic guidance of Lorne Michaels,” said Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios and chief content officer at Sky.

“Live from London, it’s Saturday Night!”

That phrase may not be familiar yet, but that will change next year when NBC’s long-running live sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live hits the U.K. with an official local adaptation.

Comcast-owned Sky and SNL creator Lorne Michaels are taking the venerable old comedy institution across the Atlantic, with Saturday Night Live UK set to air sometime in 2026. The live, fast-paced sketch format will remain the same for the adaptation, with a star-studded lineup of hosts and musical acts complementing a cast of British comedians and comedy writers.

More details on when SNL UK will debut, as well as news on casting, hosts and musical guests will be announced in the coming months.

“For over 50 years Saturday Night Live has held a unique position in TV and in our collective culture, reflecting and creating the global conversation all under the...

Live from London, it’s Saturday Night.

Three and a half years after Deadline revealed Sky was remaking Saturday Night Live in the UK, the Comcast-owned network officially handed the series a greenlight.

The remake, which will premiere in 2026, is the most high-profile international version of the venerable NBC late-night show after remakes in China, Germany, Italy and South Korea.

The pay-tv broadcaster has not revealed cast members for the show but it will certainly be a hot ticket for the UK’s comedy community.

SNL creator Lorne Michaels will exec produce the UK version and it will be produced by his Broadway Video and Universal Television Alternative Studio’s UK production team.

The show will follow the same live format as the U.S. version, which just celebrated its 50th anniversary, with rotating hosts and musical performances.

It will be interesting to see what time the show launches...

Series Mania, European television’s biggest get-together of the year, has come to an end for another 12 months following a festival and forum that brought many of the industry’s biggest names to the quirky French city of Lille. The vibe on the ground has been one of cautious optimism, as creatives and producers embrace challenges with spirit. Here, Deadline takes you through the top five talking points.

American Isolation

Just like in politics, the U.S. and Europe seem to be getting further and further away from each other in the world of television. Notable on the ground was a lack of American buyers, execs, writers and creatives. “They’re just not here,” observed one European producer. Netflix didn’t hold its traditional commissioner session, instead sending European TV makers who’ve worked with the streamer in its place during a poorly-received talk on Wednesday. Note to Netflix: Must do better.

Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios and chief content officer for Sky U.K. claims that the difficulties currently being faced by the TV industry aren’t likely to be going away any time soon.

Speaking at Series Mania, she said there was “no question that there are some fairly sizeable structural challenges that the business is facing overall — whether it’s in Europe or in the U.S., we’re in a state of transition.”

She added: “Things will settle at some point with probably a slightly reorganized industry structure and business models. But there’s some pain in the transition, and I think that’s going to continue probably for a few more years. That’s not to say we can’t make great programming in the meantime.”

Speaking of great programming, Sky is currently riding high off the back of “Day of the Jackal,” which in late 2024 became...

The end of Sky’s much-discussed HBO output deal will “not leave holes” in the pay-tv giant’s UK schedules, according to its scripted boss.

Meghan Lyvers and Sky Studios boss Cécile Frot-Coutaz were speaking at Series Mania in depth about the end of the output deal for the first time, just around a year before the deal’s end and with a new arrangement between Sky and HBO-owner Warner Bros. Discovery soon to be in place.

Sky losing access to some HBO content will “not leave holes” in the schedules, according to The Day of the Jackal commissioner Lyvers.

“It just leaves the very clear indication of building a slate and the notion of the business wanting more originals because they are doing a very good job of nurturing the customers but also bringing more people into Sky,” she said. “We are really looking years and years ahead to...

Amanda Seyfried and Happy Valley alums James Norton and Sally Wainwright will be adding a dose of star power to this year’s Series Mania, while Pamela Adlon is to head up the jury.

Seyfried will attend promoting her Peacock series Long Bright River, which is having its French premiere in the international competition. In Long Bright River, which is based on the Liz Moore novel, Seyfried plays a Philadelphian police officer who works in a neighborhood with high drug use where a series of murders take place.

Long Bright River is in the international competition alongside the likes of Cooper Raiff’s Hal & Harper, with Raiff set to attend, Joe Wright’s Mussolini: Son Of The Century and Israel-America’s The German from Yes Studios.

The jury for these shows will be led by Emmy winner and Better Things star Pamela Adlon. The jury will consist of Victor Le Masne...

Sky’s Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Bad Wolf’s Jane Tranter and writer and actor Charlie Covell are among the mentors for the UK’sWomen in Film and TV (Wftv) 2025 Four Nations Mentoring Scheme.

It is designed for mid-career women working in film, television, and creative media.

The six-month programme brings together mentees from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to receive one-to-one mentoring with senior industry professionals, peer-to-peer training and tailored career and personal development workshops.

It is designed to accelerate mentees’ careers in an industry where women remain underrepresented in leadership roles.

Further mentors include llocation manager Emma Pill, Quay Street Productions’ Nicola Shindler,...

“The Day of the Jackal” producer Gareth Neame has admitted he initially balked at making the Eddie Redmayne reboot, which was released last month, because he was such a fan of the 1973 movie starring Edward Fox.

The film is itself based on Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 novel. The new series, which also stars Lashana Lynch, began broadcasting on Sky in the U.K. and Peacock in the U.S. last month. It has already been renewed for a second season.

“It came up in a creative meeting before the pandemic, and I just immediately [said] ‘No, we’re not doing that. I love the movie, nope, we’re not,’” said Neame, who is CEO of Universal International Studios-owned Carnival Films, during a panel at TV industry confab Content London on Thursday. “And colleagues kept bringing it up as, you know, ‘We have the rights.’ And the [Universal Pictures] film group weren...

The Day of the Jackal is officially the biggest new series to ever launch on Sky, The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively reveal.

With the first episode reaching a U.K. audience of 4.5 million after 26 viewing days, it makes the thriller series — starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch — the most popular new series to ever launch on Sky, scripted or unscripted.

A Sky panel made up of Phil Edgar-Jones, executive director of original unscripted; Jamie Morris, executive director of content strategy & performance; and Meghan Lyvers, executive director of original scripted, U.K. and Ireland, is set to go into more detail on the numbers at Content London on Wednesday.

On Peacock, the show ranked among the top five original streaming series in the U.S. for its opening weekend, based on preliminary Nielsen data. The NBCUniversal-owned streamer and Sky renewed The Day of the Jackal for a second season last month.

The Day of the Jackal has hit the target for Sky.

Eddie Redmayne’s glossy assassin series premiered last Thursday in the UK and has tracked down 3M viewers in seven days.

Sky said this figure, which includes repeats and streaming on Now, makes The Day of the Jackal its highest-rated original on record.

The Carnival Films drama, based on the Frederick Forsyth novel of the same name, beat Fortitude (2.5M), Gangs of London (1.75M), and Chernobyl (1.4M).

Co-starring Lashana Lynch, and Úrsula Corberó, the series has also topped the premiere episodes of HBO originals The Last of Us (2.6M) and The House of the Dragon Season 2 (1.75M).

The rating is a big win for Sky Studios CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz, who has refocused the Comcast-owned unit on fewer and more impactful series since joining in 2021.

Sky made five episodes of The Day of the Jackal available to UK audiences,...

NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution has sold thriller “The Day of the Jackal,” starring Eddie Redmayne, to nearly 200 territories around the world. The show’s U.K. premiere was on Tuesday in London.

The series, a standout title during the L.A. Screenings in May, has subsequently been snapped up by buyers worldwide.

These sales exclude the U.S., where Peacock already held the rights, and U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, where Sky is the rightsholder.

Among the buyers are Foxtel’s Binge (streaming) and Showcase channel (linear) in Australia; Corus’ Showcase (linear) and StackTV (streaming) in Canada; Amazon Prime Video (streaming) in France; JioCinema (streaming) in India; Wowow (linear and streaming) in Japan; Tvnz (linear) and Tvnz+ (streaming) in New Zealand; Wavve (streaming) in South Korea; Showmax (streaming) and M-Net (linear) in Sub-Saharan Africa; Osn’s Osn+ (streaming) and Osn (linear) in UAE and Middle East and...

Everyone agrees: the U.K. is and will remain a production hotspot. TV bosses from Warner Bros. Discovery, Sky, Disney, and Paramount Global on Tuesday hailed the knock-on impact of investment in the British and wider European market at the Royal Television Society’s London Convention on Tuesday.

The conversation, which included Disney’s Nami Patel, senior vp, strategy and business development, The Walt Disney Company Emea, and Sarah Rose, president, Channel 5 and U.K. regional lead, Paramount, repeatedly steered toward investment in the U.K.’s booming creative industry.

“In the last five years, in this market, we spent about £3.5 billion,” Patel said. “In the next five years, we’re looking to spend about a billion a year.” She continued: “This market is still very buoyant in terms of attracting investment. We’ve actually supported about 32,000 jobs through our investment in the last five years.”

“Big hits like Deadpool & Wolverine,...

Warner Bros. Discovery U.K. boss Andrew Georgiou said the Olympucs had been “great” for the media company.

Georgiou was speaking at the tail-end of a phenomenally successful summer in Europe for Wbd, which had the exclusive pay TV rights to the Olympic Games across most of Europe. “We had more subscribers come on after Day 4 [of the Olympics] than we had in the entire Tokyo games,” he said. “On linear we outstripped our growth…so for us it’s done a fantastic job across all of the markets. The challenge of course is keeping the customers.”

Georgiou, who is the president and managing director of Wbd in U.K. and Ireland and of the company’s European sports division, was speaking on a panel titled “How to win audiences and influence them” on Tuesday morning at the Royal Television Society conference in London.

His fellow panellists included Sky Studios CEO and chief content officer Cécile Frot-Coutaz,...

The heads of Sky Studios, Amazon Prime Video UK, and Left Bank Pictures have joined the UK’s National Film and Television School’s (Nfts) governing board.

Sky Studios chief exec and chief content officer Cécile Frot-Coutaz, Prime Video UK managing director Chris Bird and Left Bank co-founder and boss Andy Harries are among five recruits to the Nfts board, alongside Bafta-winning filmmaker and Nfts alum Paloma Baeza and higher education consultant Paul Clark.

The Nfts said the group’s specific expertise in global content production, animation, directing and higher education will play a key role in steering the school through its next growth phase.

Former soccer star David Beckham has joined the lineup of industry leaders speaking at the Royal Television Society’s (Rts) London Convention this year.

On Sept. 17, Beckham will be joined in conversation by Jane Featherstone, co-founder and chief creative officer of content company Sister. The ex-sportsman, who is married to Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, captured audience hearts with his Beckham documentary series on Netflix last year, amassing 3.8 million viewers within the first four days of its October release.

New speakers for the one-day event for the U.K.’s television and media industry include: Rachel Corp, CEO of ITN, Dame Melanie Dawes, chief executive of U.K. media regulator Ofcom, Cécile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios and chief content officer and Lisa Nandy, Britain’s culture secretary.

The 2024 convention, entitled The Next Episode: Keeping Our Creative Edge, will be chaired by Netflix’s Anna Mallett, vice president of production in Emea/U.

David Beckham will address the great-and-the-good of the UK TV industry at next month’s Rts London, with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy set to give her first major keynote in the role.

The footballing icon is the latest in a lineup bursting at the seams with big names. He will be in conversation with Sister boss Jane Featherstone at the King’s Place event.

Beckham, a former Manchester United and England great, is the co-founder of Studio 99, the company behind the likes of Save our Squad with David Beckham and Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything along with last year’s Netflix documentary about the man himself. At Edinburgh last week, a Victoria Beckham doc was unveiled, also produced by Studio 99 alongside Sister-backed Dorothy Street Pictures.

The Rts London’s theme is The Next Episode: Keeping Our Creative Edge and Beckham is part of the final tranche to...

Sky Studios CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz recently spoke at the Edinburgh TV Festival to reassure subscribers about HBO programming and emphasize the company’s focus on original shows. Frot-Coutaz said there is “no scenario” where Warner Bros. Discovery’s (Wbd) streaming service Max is not available to Sky customers. This comments on speculation around Sky’s partnership with Wbd as Max prepares to launch in the UK.

Some expect Wbd to move HBO shows to Max when its current deal providing content to Sky ends in 2025. However, Frot-Coutaz noted that while HBO programmes are popular, only three of Sky’s top 20 shows come from HBO. She highlighted the strength of Sky’s homegrown content. According to Frot-Coutaz, “every single market in the world” prefers locally-produced shows, though “big blockbuster series” stand out.

Frot-Coutaz added that Sky’s strategy of ordering a low volume of programming has allowed it to withstand difficulties...

Sky Studios CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz has said there is “no scenario” in which its pay-tv customers will not have access to content from Warner Bros. Discovery streamer Max when it launches in the UK.

Sky has been the sole home of HBO content in the UK for many years, but it is widely expected Wbd will move the content to its own streamer when their current output deal ends in 2025. Wbd has not officially set a date for a UK launch, but senior exec J.B. Perrette said earlier this year it would “crazy” not to go direct-to-consumer in the UK.

With that backdrop, speculation has been rampant about what the future of the Sky-Wbd partnership will look like, with both sides making positive noises about an agreement without clearly outlining what shape it could take.

Speaking today at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Frot-Coutaz echoed comments Sky CEO Dana Strong...

Comcast-owned European media and telecommunications giant Sky recently reworked all of its non-sports content teams in the U.K. and Ireland under one leadership structure, led by Cécile Frot-Coutaz as she expanded her role from CEO of Sky Studios by adding the chief content officer title.

In late July, BBC Studios said that its BBC Studios Productions arm has named Sky managing director of content Zai Bennett its new CEO and chief creative officer, starting in the fall.

Frot-Coutaz has now broadened the roles and remits of Meghan Lyvers and Phil Edgar-Jones, among others, as part of a new structure of the Sky content team.

Lyvers will lead the scripted group as executive director of original scripted, with Julia Stuart, director of original film, now reporting to her alongside Katherine Butler for drama commissioning, Alex Moody for comedy commissioning and Lyvers’ existing reports.

Edgar-Jones will now lead the unscripted...

Sky has restructured its content team in the UK following the exit of Zai Bennett.

Meghan Lyvers has been handed an expanded Executive Director of Original Scripted role and Phil Edgar-Jones given Executive Director of Original Unscripted. Meanwhile, Poppy Dixon, the highly-rated docs chief, will now report into Edgar-Jones.

There have also been a number of other changes to the teams under Cécile Frot-Coutaz.

As part of his remit as Executive Director, Content Strategy & Performance, responsible for our platform and channel performance, Jamie Morris will also take on responsibility for compliance teams led by Elizabeth Rowlands, Director of Content Compliance and Policy as well as commissioning of Sky Kids Originals led by Lucy Murphy, Director of Kids Content, Uk&i. Helen Northrop, Director of Commercial Affairs for unscripted output, will now report to Caroline Cooper who will expand her remit to include Content, as COO Sky Studios and Content.

All business affairs,...

Zai Bennett is swapping Sky for BBC Studios (Bbcs) after a decade at the pay-tv giant, Screen’s sister site Broadcast can reveal.

Sky’s managing director of content for UK & Ireland is replacing Ralph Lee in an expanded role of chief executive and chief creative officer of BBC Studios Productions in November following a high-profile and international recruitment drive.

After Lee left Bbcs in April, the enhanced role will see Bennett have oversight for Bbcs’ stable of UK and international production divisions. This includes blue-chip Natural History Unit, owned labels and invested indies across its global entertainment, factual, scripted,...

Sky Content MD Zai Bennett is heading to BBC Studios.

The UK programs chief of the Comcast-owned pay-tv giant will run BBC Studios Productions, a job that has been vacant for several months and one of the most talked about in the British industry. He replaces Ralph Lee.

Bennett will oversee a production arm that spans all genres, making the likes of Planet Earth, Strictly Come Dancing and Doctor Who. BBC Studios Productions also owns a wealth of indies including Clerkenwell Films, Lookout Point and Voltage TV. He will join BBC Studios in November, while he will also be on the exec committee.

At Sky, Bennett has overseen the likes of Chernobyl, Gangs of London and Patrick Melrose across a 10-year career. Past employers include Channel 5, ITV and BBC Three. Deadline is told that he will not be replaced at Sky. His exit follows that of UK and...

Sky content boss Zai Bennett has jumped ship to BBC Studios Productions, where he has been appointed CEO and chief creative officer.

Bennett’s remit will span the company’s U.K. and international production units as well as owned labels (such as “Baby Reindeer” producer Clerkenwell Films) and invested indies. In terms of genre, it covers the entirety of the company’s output, including entertainment, factual, scripted, kids and family and audio. BBC Studios Productions’ output also includes large-scale live events, including last year’s Eurovision Song Contest and King Charles III’s coronation.

In the new role, Bennett will be tasked with building IP, maintaining returning series and brands, securing new commissions and expanding BBC Studios’ international format pipeline.

At Comcast-owned Sky, where Bennett has spent the last decade, his latest role was managing director of content, overseeing brands such as Sky Cinema and Sky Kids as...

Comcast-owned European pay-tv and technology giant Sky is losing a top executive, as BBC Studios said Thursday that its BBC Studios Productions arm has named Zai Bennett as new CEO and Chief Creative Officer, starting in the fall.

“He joins from Sky where he is currently managing director of content and will take the reins of the U.K.’s most awarded production company, with BBC Studios Productions responsible for seven of the top 10 performing shows in the UK across 2023, including events such as Eurovision and the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla – plus water-cooler drama like Happy Valley 3,” BBC Studios said.

Bennett’s remit will span the company’s U.K. and international production units, including its Natural History Unit, owned labels and invested indies across its global entertainment, factual, scripted, kids & family, and audio genres and “see him bring a creative-first approach to driving the production business forward,...

A big dragon head, a lot of flames, cosplayers and stars galore on the red carpet as House of the Dragon celebrated its season two U.K. premiere on Monday evening had attendees and the many onlookers ablaze with excitement despite repeated rain showers in the British capital earlier in the day. Of course, the Iron Throne was also there.

Series stars — including Emma D’Arcy, wearing a black and white outfit that drew much attention; Olivia Cooke; Matt Smith; Fabien Frankel; Steve Toussaint; Eve Best; and Harry Collett — descended on London’s Leicester Square, igniting enthusiasm among spectators snapping pictures and taking videos while cheering and screaming. They were joined for the screening of a first look at the second season of the Game of Thrones prequel, led by showrunner Ryan Condal who also attended, along with Sky Studios CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz and Zai Bennett, managing director of content for Sky U.

Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch will be joined by Úrsula Corberó, known for her role as Tokyo in Netflix hit Money Heist, Charles Dance (Game of Thrones, The Crown) and Richard Dormer (Fortitude, Game of Thrones) in the upcoming TV adaptation of The Day of the Jackal for Sky and Peacock.

Corberó will play Nuria, “someone at the heart of The Jackal’s personal life, entirely unaware of who he truly is,” while Dance will feature as Timothy Winthrop, and Dormer will play a character called Norman.

Also joining the cast are Chukwudi Iwuji (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Split) as Osita Halcrow, Lia Williams (The Capture, The Crown) as Isabel Kirby, Khalid Abdalla (The Crown, The Kite Runner) as Ulle Dag Charles, Eleanor Matsuura (The Walking Dead, I Used To Be Famous) as Zina Jansone, Jonjo O’Neill (Andor, Bad Sisters) as Edward Carver, and Sule Rimi (Classified, Andor) as Paul Pullman.

Sky U.K., part of Comcast-owned European media and technology giant Sky, touted its programming slate for the year at its annual “Up Next” event at Protein Studios in Shoreditch, London on Thursday evening, with Cécile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios and chief content officer, lauding a “fantastic lineup for 2024.”

Sky has continued to double down on original content under Comcast’s ownership. “2024 is a year where you really see the results of the investments,” Frot-Coutaz said, touting “the level of ambition.” “It’s really now paying off, and that’s the case across all genres.”

She mentioned such upcoming shows as Mary & George, starring Julianne Moore, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, starring Harvey Keitel, and The Day of the Jackal, starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch, as well as the upcoming film Lee, which tells the story of Lee Miller, a former-model-turned-war-photographer. Kate Winslet stars in it and also serves as a producer.

‘Am I Being Unreasonable?’ Producer’s Development Boss Joins Sky

The Head of Development at Am I Being Unreasonable? producer Boffola Pictures is joining Sky Studios next month. Emily Allen will become Commissioning Executive for Comedy within Alex Moody’s Sky Studios comedy commissioning team and will have responsibility for ordering Sky original comedies from indies. She will join from Boffola Pictures, the indie run by former BBC comedy heads Shane Allen and Kate Daughton that produces BAFTA-winning Daisy May Cooper show Am I Being Unreasonable?. Prior to Boffola, she worked in the BBC comedy team. Sky original comedies launching in 2024 include Mr Bigstuff, which stars Danny Dyer, and comedy-drama Small Town, Big Story, written and directed by Chris O’Dowd, and starring Christina Hendricks and Paddy Considine. Brassic will also return for a sixth season. The news comes a few days after Sky Studios slimmed down its structure by unifying...

Sky is bringing its studios and content divisions together under Cécile Frot-Coutaz.

Frot-Coutaz, who joined the Comcast-owned outfit nearly three years ago, has been promoted and will take on an expanded role as CEO of Sky Studios and Chief Content Officer.

She will lead all of Sky’s content business excluding sport while continuing to helm studios. Sky’s UK and Ireland content teams plus Sky News across Europe will report to Frot-Coutaz, including the likes of Content MD Zai Bennett.

The move comes several weeks after Sky revealed UK and Ireland CEO Stephen van Rooyen would be stepping down at the end of February, leaving Sky’s operations in those countries to report directly to CEO Dana Strong.

Projects currently in development will not be impacted by the changes, we understand, and no layoffs will follow.

Meghan Lyvers will continue to oversee original series for Sky Studios, with...

Comcast-owned European media and telecommunications giant Sky is bringing all of its non-sports content teams in the U.K. and Ireland under one leadership structure, led by Cécile Frot-Coutaz.

Currently CEO of Sky Studios, she will add the chief content officer title, expanding her role to lead all parts of Sky’s content business in the U.K. and Ireland, excluding sports, “with Sky’s U.K. and Ireland content business reporting to her as well as Sky News Group across Europe,” the company said. Frot-Coutaz’s new title will be CEO Sky Studios and chief content officer.

Zai Bennett, managing director of content for Sky U.K. and Ireland, remains responsible for Sky’s output and performance in the countries, “leading Sky Entertainment, Sky Cinema and Sky Kids, along with commissioning for factual, entertainment, arts, kids and film as well as acquisitions across Sky Group,” the company said. “As part of the change,...

Sky Studios CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz is expanding her role to extend across the Comcast-owned media group’s entire U.K. and Ireland content business outside of sports. Her new title will be CEO of Sky Studios and chief content officer.

Zai Bennett, MD of content for Sky U.K. and Ireland, will now report to Frot-Coutaz, who joined Sky in 2021 after leadership stints at Fremantle and YouTube.

Bennett previously reported to Stephen van Rooyen, Sky CEO for U.K. and Ireland, who departs the company this month after 17 years in the job. Bennett will remain responsible for output and performance. His role includes overseeing commissions, acquisitions across the group and managing the Sky Entertainment, Sky Cinema and Sky Kids brands.

Frot-Coutaz already looked after Sky’s comedy and drama across Europe as part of her remit. She will now also lead on U.K. and Ireland content as well as Sky News across Europe,...

Sky News, a division of Comcast-owned European media and technology giant Sky, wants its coverage to “set an agenda, not present one,” David Rhodes, executive chairman of the Sky News Group, said in London on Tuesday evening.

Speaking during a Sky News showcase at Somerset House in central London, he talked about the news brand’s approach. The event took place at a time when Sky News is preparing for what it has called “a pivotal year for U.K. and U.S. politics,” given big elections in both countries.

Rhodes also described Sky News’ goals as “challenging the powerful in equal measure, challenging the status quo” and being “an insurgent brand.”

He also promised that “we’ll be investing in our political coverage,” mentioning the weeknight 7-8 p.m. show Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge as an example. “We started the Politics Hub on television, it had been a digital brand.

Sky Deutschland will no longer make scripted shows from next year and is closing its scripted arm.

The Das Boot, Babylon Berlin and Munich Games network will “halt production of new scripted Sky Originals from 2024 onwards,” according to a note from Sky Deutschland boss Devesh Raj this morning, which said shows in production will be completed.

The Sky Deutschland scripted originals team is expected to be closed once these shows have been delivered.

Raj’s note said “the cost of producing scripted content has continued to rise, in part driven by the emergence of myriad new streaming providers, making it harder for drama series to cut through.”

He added that the decision had “not been taken lightly and does not come without an impact to our people and, today, all colleagues in Sky Studios Deutschland who are impacted were informed.”

Sky will continue making shows in other markets such as the UK and Italy.

Sky Deutschland, the German arm of Comcast-owned pay-tv operator Sky, is pulling out of scripted originals from 2024, Variety can reveal.

Staff were notified of the surprise move by Sky Deutschland boss Devesh Raj on Thursday morning, local time. Variety understands that the entire scripted originals team will eventually be disbanded, though shows that have already been commissioned and are in production, such as post-apocalypse drama “Helgoland 513″ and “Das Boot” Season 4, will finish filming. Any projects in development will be “put into turnaround,” as per another internal note from Sky Studios CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz, also seen by Variety.

The most high-profile casualty of the strategy shift will undoubtedly be period police thriller “Babylon Berlin,” which is critically acclaimed and aired its fourth season in the fall. Fans have been expecting a fifth season, but Variety understands that the neo-noir — which isn’t currently in production — has been canceled by Sky...

New ‘Neighbours’ As Reprieved Series Prepares Return

The return of long-running Australian soap “Neighbours” will see a new family, the Varga-Murphys, featuring mums, Remi (Naomi Rukavina) and Cara (Sara West) and teenage sons, JJ (Riley Bryant) and Dex (Marley Williams), moving to the iconic Ramsay Street.

West said: “Cara has a bold, impassioned love for her family and I love that her intentions have, so far, always been good. I hope having the Varga-Murphys on telly will help better reflect the beautiful Lgbtqia+ community that I’m proud to be a part of and I can’t wait to share the family with you.”

Rukavina added: “As a stalwart of Australian drama television, the show is on the front foot of showcasing diverse and real representations of Australian families, not in a tokenistic way.”

“Neighbours,” produced by Fremantle, will premiere for free, exclusively on Amazon Freevee in the U.K.

Welcome, Insiders. Cannes is now well under way while the picket lines remain busy in LA. Jesse Whittock here in London. I’ve rounded up all the big and important news from film and TV, so sit back and enjoy the read. Subscribe here.

Cannes Gets In Gear Cannes

Controversy: Diana Lodderhose here reporting from Cannes where it’s been all systems go on the Croisette since the festival kicked off with the opening of Johnny Depp starrer Jeanne du Barry on Tuesday. It wouldn’t feel like a proper Cannes without a healthy dose of controversy. Festival head Thierry Frémaux responded to French actress Adèle Haenel’s suggestion that Cannes is part of a French eco-system that turns a blind eye to sexual violence. “It’s not true and the proof is that if you believed it, you would not be here, listening to me now, taking your accreditations...

Exclusive: Sky wanted to start 2023 with a bang. Comcast’s European pay-tv giant gathered journalists at London’s salubrious Soho Hotel and laid on a banquet table heaving with Danish pastries. A smorgasbord of upcoming Sky content was also on the menu, but there was really only one show on everyone’s lips. The Last of Us had recently premiered and Pedro Pascal’s blockbuster apocalypse series was in the mood to steal Sky’s thunder.

Sky is the home of HBO content in the UK and people who know the business will tell you it is both a blessing and a curse. In many respects, it is the diamond-studded crown atop Sky’s £500M ($630M) original content pile, but industry insiders say the headgear weighs heavy.

HBO makes some of the best television in the world by any standard, meaning Sky is subscription bait for Succession and Game of Thrones fans.

National protests in France threatened to disrupt the 2023 Series Mania television festival and international industry summit, but, in the end, the 2023 event went off without a hitch. Members of the global TV industry gathered in the northern French city of Lille to celebrate the best in new small-screen drama and ponder the future of the business.

Here are the four big industry takeaways.

Everyone’s Going Local Netflix original series Transatlantic, is produced out of Germany

A few years back, all the major streamers were touting their global appeal, but with subscription growth slowing, the battle for business has moved to the local level. At Series Mania, execs for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and Paramount+ all touted their local credentials.

Netflix’s heads of European TV programming, including Germany’s Katja Hofem, France’s Damien Couvreur, and the Nordic region’s Jenny Stjernströmer Björk teased the streamer’s Euro slate,...

Sky Studios CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz has called the plethora of shows on the market “really confusing” for viewers.

In a keynote interview at Series Mania today, Frot-Coutaz addressed said the biggest challenge for platforms such as Comcast-owned Sky as one of discoverability.

“The challenges of the industry have always been partnering with the right creatives and executing things well,” she said. “What’s changed massively recently is there’s just too much product. For consumers it’s really confusing.”

The challenge was ensuring programs could cut through and reach the right audiences. “There’s going to be a real demand for simplification,” she said.

Related: Deadline’s Full Coverage Of Series Mania 2023

Elsewhere in her talk, Frot-Coutaz declined to comment on reports Sky is looking at selling Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland, and instead spoke about the Sky Studios departments in Italy and Germany work together and with Sky UK & Ireland.

Lille’s Series Mania Forum is kicking off today with a packed schedule of talks, screenings and competitions.

Fighting it out in International Competition are the likes of Prime Video’s Toni Collette starrer The Power, Haven of Grace from Magnetic Beats director Vincent Maël Cardona, and Quoc Dang Tran’s Apple TV+ series Drops of God.

They compete against Greek series Milky Way, which opened the festival, Viaplay’s futuristic Russell Tovey drama The Fortress, Red Skies from Israel, The Actor from Iran and Fleeting Lies from Spain. Each will have its world premiere at the event.

The Power is a fantasy series set in a world where the physical balance of power between men and women switches when electric arcs emerge from the fingers of teenage girls all around the world. Debuting later this month, it comes from Sister, the UK producer behind Chernobyl and is based on Naomi Alderman’s sci-fi novel.