TBI’s 2024 Predictions: Frank Spotnitz, CEO, Big Light Productions

By Mark Layton 5th January 2024

Frank Spotnitz (Source: Big Light Productions)

2024 is set to be a pivotal year for the global content industry, so TBI has enlisted some of the biggest names in the business to share their thoughts on the major trends of the next 12 months and how they’re going to capitalise on them.

Here, Frank Spotnitz, CEO of Leonardo and The Man In The High Castle producer Big Light Productions, reveals how he expects to see a rise in-co-productions and a decreasing number of shows making it to the screen in the year ahead.

What is the biggest growth area for your company this year?

Mark Twain said, “The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different.” It’s impossible to predict which shows on our slate will advance the quickest, but based on conversations we’ve had with buyers, there’s a strong interest in co-productions. It reminds me of the wave of co-productions in Europe when I started Big Light ten years ago, but now the demand is being driven by intense market pressures and I expect we’ll see real growth in the number of co-productions being made, both with and without US partners.

What is the key trend going to be in 2024?

Aside from more co-productions? Less. Fewer shows will be produced, and those that are produced will see stagnant or smaller budgets.

The Bear

What is your New Year’s resolution and why?

Big Light has a set of core values that we try to live by, week in and week out, year after year. They include a consistent effort to maintain our standards of quality. So rather than making resolutions, I guess the new year is a chance for us to reflect on our values, and remind ourselves of the need to constantly strive to achieve them.

What will be the biggest headline (not involving your own company) in 2024 and why?

My guess? One or more of the big streaming platforms will be acquired by a competitor.

What show are you most looking forward to in 2024?

I’m actually not certain if this will be a 2024 release, but I love anything Steve McQueen does, and I’m excited to see his new series, Blitz, on Apple TV+. I also can’t wait to see season three of The Bear, which is one of my favourite shows. And I’m frustrated that I’ll have to wait until 2025 to see season two of The Last Of Us, which I love.

Read more from TBI’s 2024 Predictions

Tom Fussell, CEO, BBC Studios

Nomsa Philiso, CEO of general entertainment, MultiChoice Group

Marina Williams, co-CEO, Asacha Media Group

Kate Beal, founder & CEO, Woodcut Media

James Burstall, CEO, Argonon

Julian Bellamy, MD, ITV Studios

Daria Leygonie-Fialko, founder, Space Production

Rob Wade, CEO, Fox Entertainment

Frank Spotnitz, CEO, Big Light Productions

David Michel, president and co-founder, Cottonwood Media

TBI’s 2024 Predictions: Mark Fennessy, founder & CCO, Helium