C21Podcast

Australian pubcaster ABC’s Jennifer Collins, CBC’s Jennifer Dettman, History’s Eli Lehrer and Discovery’s Victoria Noble discuss how the global unscripted business was changed by the events of 2020 and their commissioning strategies beyond.

Dan McDermott, president of original programming at AMC Networks Entertainment Group and co-president of AMC Studios, and Shiny Penny Productions’ founder Stacey Sher – producer of Contagion and Mrs America – on how they have dealt with 2020 and their agendas for the year ahead.

UK drama chiefs Piers Wenger from the BBC, ITV's Polly Hill and Channel 4's Caroline Hollick discuss how they have coped with the challenges presented by 2020, new shows coming through, and their development and commissioning strategies for 2021.

Nordic Entertainment Group chief content officer Filippa Wallestam, OUTtv CEO Brad Danks, Quebecor Content VP of acquisitions and international distribution Christine Maestracci and WaterBear Network founder Ellen Windemuth discuss how local and niche VoD services are holding their ground against the FAANGs.

Red Production Company CEO Sarah Doole, Impact X Capital Partners CEO Eric Collins, Rideback TV Incubator executive director Elsie Choi and Unstoppable Film and TV CEO Jason Maza talk to ITV group director of diversity and inclusion Ade Rawcliffe about authenticity in TV.

Starz president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch and president of original programming Christina Davis talk about how the US premium cablenet has responded to the Covid-19 pandemic and is transitioning to VoD, with inclusivity at the heart of its organisation and the stories it tells on-screen.

Showrunner Sheri Elwood, Yellow Bird producer Georgie Mathew, producer Charlotte Surtees talk with Film London AND British Film Commission CEO Adrian Wootton about how they continued producing as Covid-19 swept and the lessons they hope to take forward into future productions.

TV drama executives Elly Vervloet at VRT, Brigitte Dithard of SWR, Suzanne Kunzeler from NPO and producer Helen Perquy talk about the European Broadcasting Union's Drama Initiative and its first project – a series about a virus outbreak conceived before Covid-19.

Sky Studios chief content officer Jane Millichip discusses how the firm has navigated 2020 and continued to invest in original series for the coming year; and the team behind new Sky Deutschland haunted house drama Hausen explain how it harks back to classic German horror.

HBO and HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys sets out his programming strategy for the US premium cablenet and its streamer into 2021; and writer Russell T Davies and Red Production Company founder Nicola Shindler discuss their new Channel 4 drama series It's a Sin.

Tim Carter, CEO of MultiStory Media and Twofour, talks about how the ITV Studios factual entertainment labels have continued producing through 2020, the value of their back catalogues and returning formats, plus new series coming to market in the next 12 months.

Endeavour creator Russell Lewis and exec producer Andrew O'Connor discuss new ITV drama Grace, an adaptation of Peter James’ award-winning contemporary detective novels starring John Simm, produced by ITV Studios' Second Act Productions and Tall Story Pictures, together with Vaudeville Productions.

Julie Meldal-Johnsen and Kate Barnes, executive VP and senior VP respectively of global content at ITV Studios, talk about how the company has navigated 2020, its latest crop of dramas completed during this year and what's coming up in the next 12 months.

Independent media consultant Brad Adgate talks about how the pandemic has impacted the US TV ad market and accelerated the shift to streaming, and Sony Pictures Television Networks' Balazs Szabo reveals how the firm's Central European channels have dealt with the crisis.

UK broadcaster and author Simon Mayo talks about the adaptation of his book series Itch for ABC in Australia and intimacy coordinator Vanessa Coffey explains how sex scenes are being filmed during the pandemic.

Trioscope Studios chief executive LC Crowley and chief creative officer Grzegorz Jonkajtys talk new Netflix WWII adult animated drama The Liberator; and Rob Slater, head of production at UK indie Meridian Line Films, on making docs in China.

Sister co-founder Jane Featherstone talks about how she is planning for a different future, and Belinda Campbell, joint MD at Red Planet Pictures, considers the long-term future of traditional broadcasters in the face of increased competition from streamers.

Filmmaker Deeyah Khan talks about her recent ITV documentaries looking at abortion in America and the impact of Donald Trump's presidency on Muslims; and In My Skin creator Kayleigh Llewellyn and director Lucy Forbes discuss the Welsh BBC3 coming-of-age drama tackling mental health.

John Cassy, founder and CEO of Factory 42, discusses the company's recent push into children’s content while rlaxx TV co-founders Ronny Lutzi and Dirk Wittenborg discuss their newly launched AVoD service.

Independent media consultant David Smyth, former senior VP and MD at Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, and Marc Berman, creator and editor-in-chief of Programming Insider, discuss how the pandemic has impacted the US studio system and current fall season.

Tom Welling and Jeff Most, star and co-creator of new action drama Professionals, discuss the series from Germany's Leonine Studios set for Viaplay and RTL; and Magnify Media CEO Andrea Jackson talks about the recent sale of her distribution business to Plimsoll Productions, plus this year's virtual version of Mipcom.

NHS frontline doctor and filmmaker Nidhi Gupta reflects on attending the recent MIA Market in Rome and Covid's impact on the TV industry; and James Reatchlous, creator of Master Moley, plus Dominic Gardiner, CEO of Jetpack Distribution, talk about taking the new kids' toon to 100 territories via WarnerMedia.

Absinthe Film Entertainment’s Richard Curson Smith and Jeremy Campbell plus writer Matthew Broughton discuss new Sky comedy-drama Orson Welles in Norwich, while Getty Images senior EMEA sales director Paul Davis explains how documentary producers are making use of the company's video archive during lockdown.

Former Bristow Global Media CEO Julie Bristow talks about her new investment vehicle focused on female stories and storytellers; and Warehouse 51 Productions/West One International founder Carl Hall considers how the pandemic has shaken up distribution.

US showrunner Adi Hasak talks about his new single-location drama, The Box, which is partly a response to the spiralling production costs he says are crippling the industry; and Wildflame head of international Llinos Griffin-Williams on how the Welsh factual indie is pursuing overseas copros amid the pandemic.