Months following the success of Michael Jackson two-parter Leaving Neverland, Channel 4 and HBO are again teaming up for a feature doc. The broadcasters have commissioned a film on Kuwait-born British extremist Mohammed Emwazi, better known as Jihadi John. The 90-minute doc promises the inside story of Emwazi’s journey from life as a North London […]
The high-end drama boom is having a knock-on effect on docudramas, according to Nutopia boss Jane Root, who says premium drama levels have “pushed up” production values on shows such as the factual producer’s forthcoming History series Jesus: His Life. Told from the perspectives of eight people close to Jesus, including his mother Mary and […]
National Geographic has ordered its first drama series and two big doc projects. The Fox-owned channel operator has recently reorganised its senior management, and today announced the three new landmark shows, which include Blood Ivory (WT), its first scripted series. The show comes out of a new development deal with DNA Films & TV (28 […]
Former London Live and Channel 4 commissioner Katie Boyd has joined Jane Root’s factual specialist Nutopia. Boyd joins the Story of Us… prodco along with CB Films’ Simon Willgoss. Boyd will become executive producer, while Willgoss becomes head of development. Nutopia’s current deputy head of development Lee McNulty is concurrently promoted to in-house producer. Former […]
Nutopia, the US factual prodco run by former BBC and Discovery exec Jane Root, has hired Allyson Mandelbaum as its director of development. Prior to Nutopia, she was director of unscripted at AMC Networks and has previously worked at MTV and indie prodco Magical Elves
Turner’s news and current affairs network CNN has ordered Jesus Code, a six-part series connecting historical artefacts to central figure in the Christian faith. Jane Root’s Washington-based prodco Nutopia will make the Jesus Code, which is the latest factual series ordered by CNN as it broadens its output from pure news and current affairs. It […]
German rights distributor ZDF Enterprises and Jane Root’s prodco Nutopia are working on a European version of docu-drama format The Story of Us. Europe – The Story of Us is currently in development at format creator Nutopia, with ZDF’s commercial arm ZDFE taking international distribution rights. ZDFE and Nutopia said they are open to further […]
Factual producer and distributor Nutopia has shopped the format of its docudrama The Story of Us to Seven Network. The Australian free-to-air broadcaster will air a local version of the show. Local indie Essential Media & Entertainment, the producer of legal series Rake, will make the Australian version of the series, which is scheduled to […]
Jane Root’s prodco Nutopia has hired Simon McKeown from The Great British Bake Off producer Love Productions. McKeown will take on the same role at Nutopia, which is behind doc series such as America: The Story of US, The British, Mankind: The Story of All of Us and We Invented the World. McKeown’s CV includes […]
Vice, the publishing-to-TV media company, has hired Laura Franses to run its UK operation. Franses was the cofounder, along with Jane Root, of Nutopia, leaving the factual producer last September. She has also worked at Zodiak Media, Fox and Film Four in the UK. At Vice, Franses will take the managing director role as the […]
