Sky Studios Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Manori Ravindran International EditorYouTube executive and former Fremantle boss Cécile Frot-Coutaz has been named CEO of Sky Studios, the heavy-hitting production and development arm for Sky.Frot-Coutaz takes the reins from current chief executive Gary Davey, who launched Sky Studios in 2019.

Comcast's European pay giant Sky is working on a new eight-part supernatural crime thriller. The Rising —which starts filming in the U.K.'s Lake District next month —marks the first series produced entirely in-house by Sky's production arm Sky Studios, which is is working with exec producer Julian Stevens, who produced BBC dramas The Fall and Informer.

Naman Ramachandran In today’s Global Bulletin, Sky commissions supernatural thriller “The Rising” and Channel 4 and Peacock wage “The Undeclared War”; The Garden, BBC Studios Productions and Constantin Film Development reveal senior appointments; Rakuten TV expands AVOD offering; and Disney India picks up kids series “Dr Tenali Rama HMKD” from Cosmos-Maya.COMMISSIONSSky original series, supernatural crime thriller “The Rising,” is the first series produced entirely in-house from Sky Studios,

Clara Rugaard, the Danish actress who starred in Netflix’s I Am Mother, is to lead the cast for Sky’s The Rising, a supernatural crime thriller that was originally inspired by Belgian drama Hotel Beau Séjour.

Sky Studios has named Gabriel Silver its director of commissioning for drama, a new role created following the departure of drama director Cameron Roach earlier this year. Silver is currently senior commissioning editor and executive producer for Sky Studios, the production arm of Comcast's European pay TV giant Sky, and oversaw such hit dramas asChernobyl and Gangs of London.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorSky Studios, the pay TV network’s production arm, has promoted Gabriel Silver – who oversaw the commissioning of “Chernobyl” – to the role of director of commissioning, drama in the U.K., overseeing a broad slate of ambitious projects.Silver, who is currently senior commissioning editor and executive producer at Sky Studios, takes up his new role with immediate effect, reporting into chief content officer Jane Millichip.Most recently Silver has

Sky Studios, the production arm of Comcast-owned European pay TV giant Sky, has upped Jane Millichip to chief content officer across Europe, expanding her remit from just the U.K. to all of Sky's markets and overseeing the teams behind Sky original shows, including I Hate Suzie, Zero Zero Zero, Gangs of London and Babylon Berlin.

Natalka Znak, who recently produced Fox competition series Ultimate Tag, is setting up a new venture.

Manori Ravindran International EditorLong-time Sky executive Jane Millichip has been promoted to chief content officer for Sky Studios, overseeing all of Europe.Millichip, the former managing director of distributor Sky Vision, was tapped as the studio’s chief content officer for the U.K. in July 2020.

Manori Ravindran International EditorComcast-backed Sky Studios has launched a new production outfit.

Sky Studios is teaming with French major Gaumont on comedy The Wasp, which is being produced for Sky Deutschland.

Naman Ramachandran Sky Studios and Gaumont have teamed on “The Wasp,” the first Sky original comedy to be produced for Sky Deutschland.The six-part series follows Eddie Frotzke, a fallen professional dart player who, after a prolonged career slump, wants to return to his former glory.

Manori Ravindran International EditorGary Davey, CEO of Sky Studios, is stepping down from the post in 2021, with plans to retire.Davey — a long-time veteran who first joined the company upon its launch in 1989 — was appointed CEO of Sky Studios in June 2019, famously telling the industry that “we only have one rule and that is ‘no rules'” in regards to the fledgling studio’s strategy under new owners Comcast.

Gary Davey, the CEO of Comcast-owned Sky Studios, has announced his decision to retire in summer 2021 after more than a decade with the company.

Naman Ramachandran The U.K.’s Film and TV Charity has launched the Whole Picture Program, a two-year initiative designed to to improve the mental health and wellbeing of the 200,000 people who work behind the scenes in film, TV and cinema.The Film and TV Charity has now secured £3 million ($3.87 million) in funding from Amazon Prime Video, Banijay U.K., BBC, BBC Studios, Channel 4, IMG, ITV, Sky, Sky Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia to

Naman Ramachandran HBO Max will be the exclusive U.S. home for drama comedy “I Hate Suzie,” originally commissioned by the U.K.’s Sky Studios, with Bad Wolf (“His Dark Materials”) producing.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorAnil Gupta, the BAFTA-winning executive producer of the UK version of The Office, is joining Sky Studios in the newly-created role of creative director of comedy.Gupta will focus on boosting in-house comedy production at the Comcast-owned company and will report to Jon Mountague, Sky Studios’ director of comedy.As well as Ricky Gervais’ The Office, his credits include Goodness Gracious Me, The Kumars at No.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterThe UK’s Film and TV Charity has set up a second COVID-19 Recovery Fund, this time with a $2.6M (£2M) pot contributed to by numerous companies including Amazon Prime Video, which has put up $1.3M (£1M).Further donors include BAFTA, BBC Studios, Sky Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment and ViacomCBS, alongside private individuals.The fund will look to support those at greatest personal and professional risk as a result of the pandemic.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterA documentary about the Wirecard financial scandal is in the works at Sky Studios. Gabriela Sperl is developing the project with producer SFFP, it will be directed by Benji and Jono Bergmann of BABKA, who will also co-produce.

The Third Day is the latest collaborative thriller from HBO and Sky Studios.Set on the beautiful and remote British island of Osea, The Third Day follows two people who arrive at different times to a strange and foreboding island isolated from the mainland...

Tom Grater International Film ReporterCameron Roach, Director of Drama at Sky Studios, is leaving his position at the UK producer.In an internal note to staff, CEO Gary Davey said the exec was departing to “spend more time with his family”.Roach has been at Sky since 2013, working on shows including Britannia, Bulletproof and Riviera. Since Autumn 2018 he has led Sky Drama in the UK, delivering series including Chernobyl and Gangs of London.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentIn an internal note seen by Variety, Gary Davey, CEO of London-based Sky Studios, has revealed to staff that Cameron Roach is to step down from his role as director of drama at Sky Studios in the spring.In his memo, Davey wrote: “Cameron has decided to take some time out and spend more time with his family in Manchester.”Roach joined Sky Drama as commissioning editor in 2013, and worked across a range of titles including Sky Originals

Variety Staff Follow Us on TwitterVariety International Editor Manori Ravindran will moderate a conversation about succeeding in the global streaming economy with Yulia Poltorak, Head of International Content Distribution, Roku; Jane Millichip, Chief Commercial Officer, Sky Studios; Kelly Day, Chief Operating Officer, ViacomCBS Networks International; Debbie Weinstein, VP, YouTube and video global solutions, Google; and Stefan Lederer, CEO, Bitmovin.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorNBCUniversal Global Distribution has signed a wide-ranging, multi-year output deal with Stan, which will see the streamer become the exclusive Australian home of new shows from Sky Studios, NBCUniversal International Studios, and Peacock content produced by Universal Studio Group.Also included within the deal are DreamWorks Animation TV shows produced for Peacock and NBCUniversal’s children’s programming, while Stan will also have access to NBCUniversal’s

Jill Goldsmith Co-Business EditorEXCLUSIVE: FilmRise, the Brooklyn-based film and TV distributor, is launching its first original production, forensic investigative series Bloodline Detectives hosted by Nancy Grace with Peninsula Television in partnership with Sky Studios.Genesis TV will syndicate the 20-episode series, which features criminal investigations using familial DNA. It will premiere nationwide Oct.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorComcast-backed Sky Studios has revealed that it is collaborating with producers to rework major drama series in the event that the UK heads back into another Covid-induced lockdown.Deadline reported last week that series including Sky/Epix co-production Britannia and A Discovery Of Witches, which is made in partnership with AMC, will be back in production by the end of September.Sky Studios CEO Gary Davey confirmed this during a virtual Broadcasting Press Guild

Leo Barraclough Senior International Correspondent“This has been a hell of a year,” Gary Davey, CEO of Sky Studios, the production arm of Comcast-owned European pay-TV operator Sky, said Wednesday, contemplating the carnage caused by COVID.