Storyville


BBC Storyville commissioner Philippa Kowarsky quits after less than year in role

Philippa Kowarsky has stepped down from her role as commissioning editor of UK pubcaster the BBC’s original documentary brand Storyville, after just short of a year. Kowarsky took on the position in August last year, but has now exited to pursue other ventures outside of the BBC. The role tasked her with identifying and co-producing […]

Fremantle hires Storyville’s Mandy Chang as global docs boss

Fremantle has hired Mandy Chang, head of the BBC’s famed factual strand Storyville, as its global head of documentaries. Chang joined the BBC from Australia’s ABC in 2017 following the exit of Storyville’s former chief Nick Fraser, who launched SVOD Yaddo (now owned by Lightning International), and Netflix-bound Kate Townsend. She has been behind docs […]

Channel 4 signs up for ‘Meat The Family’, ‘Lost Pharaohs Of The Nile’

UK broadcaster Channel 4 has signed up to innovative format Meat The Family (working title) from Spun Gold TV. The 3 x 60-minute series forces families to question how much they know about the animals they put on their plates. Over three weeks, four families will share their homes with the animals they would normally […]

BBC Storyville unveils latest international documentary slate

Storyville, the BBC’s international documentary strand, has used this month’s Sheffield Doc/Fest to unveil its latest slate and a new look. Commissioning editor Mandy Chang also said that BBC Storyville will, for the first time, be bringing films to the youth skewing BBC Three alongside its usual home on BBC Four. The previous logo for […]

TBS plots Notorious B.I.G.-inspired drama

US basic cable channel TBS is developing a scripted series inspired by the lyrics of late hip hop legend Notorious B.I.G. The series will be titled Think B.I.G., with the plotlines loosely based on the rhymes of the New York rapper, real name Christopher Wallace. It will follow the misadventures of an inner-city teen desperately […]

Starz developing New Orleans drama with Playground

US premium cable net Starz is developing Storyville, a period drama set in turn of the 20th Century New Orleans, with ex-HBO exec Colin Callender’s prodco, Playground Entertainment, on production duty. The show will be set in the Storyville district of New Orleans at a time when prostitution has been decriminalised and the city’s jazz […]

BBC spotlights Lance Armstrong pre-Tour de France

UK pubcaster the BBC has acquired Stop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story ahead of cycling showcase event the Tour de France later this year. The investigative journalism doc is billed as an “intimate but explosive portrait” of disgraced cyclist Armstrong, who last year admitted to conducting one of the biggest doping programmes in the […]

BBC’s Storyville to launch on iPlayer ahead of TV

The latest programmes from UK net BBC Four’s flagship documentary series Storyville will launch on VOD player iPlayer before launching on linear TV. The Modern Outlaws Season, which comprises Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer, Smash And Grab: The Story Of The Pink Panthers and The Great Hip-Hop Hoax, will each premiere online on Saturday, October […]