Rogan snags Passion Pictures exec as head of production

Nicholas Franklin

UK factual indie Rogan Productions has appointed Passion Pictures exec Nicholas Franklin as head of production.

Reporting to husband-and-wife co-founders, MD Soleta Rogan and creative director James Rogan, Franklin joins the team from his role as head of production at Passion.

His credits include films and series such as David Harewood: Psychosis And Me for BBC2, Catching Killers for Netflix, Charlie Hebdo: Three Days That Shook Paris for Channel4/Smithsonian, Stolen Daughters: Kidnapped By Boko Haram for HBO, BBC, Arte and Locked Up Abroad for Nat Geo.

Rogan Productions, which was established in 2013, is behind factual titles including Black Power: A British Story of Resistance, Uprising, Freddie Mercury: The Final Act and Putin: A Russian Spy Story. 

Its more recent productions include My Daughter’s Killer for Netflix, Crisis In Care: Follow The Money for BBC Panorama, Gay Under The Taliban for All 4 and Made In The 80’s: The Decade That Shaped Our World, which aired this week on Channel 4.

It was recently announced that Rogan will also produce Signs For Change (working title), with Rose Ayling-Ellis, for the BBC.

Last year, the company announced the launch of Rogan Scotland, a new production and development base in Glasgow, as well as confirming the appointment of Mark Hedgecoe as head of Rogan Scotland. The new arm is due to release Frida, a three part docuseries for BBC Two about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and her relationship with Diego Rivera and What Happened To Annie, formally announced as Body On The Beach for BBC Three and BBC Scotland, exploring the death of a young Swedish woman, Annie Börjesson.

Soleta Rogan praised Franklin for his “truly impressive experience, vision and ambition”, while Franklin returned the compliment, adding that he has “always been impressed by the breadth and quality of the output at Rogan Productions.”