US networks to tap UK talent

US giants Fox, HBO and WME want to tap into the UK’s “producing voice” as they move towards a new era of transatlantic co-productions.

Executives from the Hollywood trio, speaking at Keshet’s INTV conference in Jerusalem, revealed that they are looking to develop stronger ties with British producers, building on partnerships with broadcasters such as the BBC and Sky.

Kary Antholis, president of miniseries at HBO, told Broadcast the network wants to work directly with UK indies.

“The BBC and Sky both have their agendas and we have shared sensibilities with them, but our real focus is the creators of series. That’s what defines each individual project.”

HBO is working closely with Brontë Film and Television on Cormoran Strike, a BBC1 drama based on the detective novels written under a pseudonym by JK Rowling, and is still in “active development” on a remake of Kudos’ Channel 4 drama Utopia, despite director David Fincher dropping out in 2015.

Antholis is also president of programming at HBO sister network Cinemax, which is working with All3Media-owned indies Two Brothers and New Pictures on BBC1 murder mystery co-pro Rellik.

He said that US/UK co-pros are beginning to move beyond “period dramas and worthy programming”.

Meanwhile, Fox is targeting closer ties with British producers and writers. Fox Television Group co-chief executive Dana Walden said the broadcaster is stepping up its search for British drama and comedy formats to feed its collection of under-contract writers, as well as reality formats that can rival The Voice.

The company’s cable production division Fox 21 Studios, which produces Homeland and The Bastard Executioner (shot in Wales), is on the brink of a deal with a British production company to mine writing talent.

President Bert Salke said: “UK shows are at a level right now that’s frankly better than US shows.

“We want great properties to bring to the writers we’re in business with. Everything we do is to either get new writers or service those writers we work with.”

He highlighted shows such as Artists Studio’s The Fall and Caryn Mandabach Productions and Tiger Aspect’s Peaky Blinders. “The UK may have made its bones on period dramas, but there are other great stories,” he added.

Hollywood talent agency WME is also building closer UK ties following the success of The Night Manager, which was distributed globally through WME-owned IMG.

Partner Chris Rice said it will grow its international television activities and is close to hiring a London-based vice-president to help drive this expansion.

During the two-day INTV, US television chiefs also discussed the implications of Donald Trump’s presidency on programming trends.

NBC’s family drama This Is Us, which airs on C4 in the UK, was held up as an example of broad, wholesome entertainment that was a ratings hit across the US.

Walden, whose Fox studio produces the Mandy Moore-fronted drama, said the firm “does not want to tackle politics right now”.

But she added that Fox’s forth coming 10-part series Shots Fired, which follows a racially charged shooting in North Carolina, will tackle social issues in an entertaining way, rather than on a “soapbox”.

Similarly, HBO’s Antholis said the Warner Bros-owned network will veer away from overtly political programming.

“There’s not a project I’m working on that relates to Donald Trump specifically,” he added, but shows such as The Night Of tackle the “issues implicit in ‘Trumpism’”.