Zai Bennett

Sky and HBO order true crime series from Working Title TV

Sky and HBO have greenlit The Case Against Adnan Syed, a four-hour documentary series directed by Amy Berg (Deliver Us from Evil, West of Memphis). The series will explore the 1999 disappearance and murder of 18-year-old Baltimore County high school student Hae Min Lee and the subsequent conviction of her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed (pictured). The […]

Sky scraps overnight measurements

UK paycaster Sky is to scrap overnight measurements in favour of a seven-day cumulative audience read. Sky director of programmes Zai Bennett said the “way the industry reports on TV viewing ultimately means that we’re under-selling ourselves”, adding: “We need to be more transparent.” In an open letter, Bennett said Sky was “supportive” of UK […]

Chernobyl drama first from HBO, Sky pact

A drama based on the Chernobyl catastrophe is the first high-end series to come out of the US$250 million production pact between HBO and Sky. Chernobyl will be a fictional version of the events that surrounded the accident in a Ukrainian nuclear power plant in April 1986, which caused 31 deaths and likely many more […]

Bennett to lead Sky UK and Ireland after rejig

Sky Atlantic director Zai Bennett will lead the wider Sky Entertainment business in the UK and Ireland after a management realignment. Bennett takes up the new position of director of programmes at Sky Entertainment, which is similar to the role Stuart Murphy held before exiting last year. The appointment is effective immediately. This means Bennett […]

Sky Atlantic has Affair with award-winner

UK and Ireland pay channel Sky Atlantic has acquired The Affair, the Golden Globe-winning drama in which Dominic West (The Wire) and Ruth Wilson (Luther) play people engaged in an illicit relationship. The deal with CBS Studios International covers the first season of the Showtime series, which will begin broadcasting in May, plus the recently-announce […]

Kavanagh named BBC Three online chief

Damian Kavanagh has named as head of the new-look, online-only BBC Three. Kavanagh, currently controller of BBC Daytime at the UK pubcaster the BBC, as been the proposal lead on the controversial move to switch youth-skewed linear channel BBC Three to an online-only service. This week, the BBC formally outlined its proposal, claiming the move […]

BBC Three appoints interim boss

Sam Bickley has been appointed acting channel editor of UK free-to-air channel BBC Three. Bickley will fill the role being vacated by Zai Bennett, who is leaving the UK public broadcaster next month to join pay TV platform BSkyB as director of Sky Atlantic. He announced his departure as BBC Three boss following the news […]

Outgoing boss announces new BBC Three series

UK digital youth-skewed channel BBC Three has ordered three new formats. From the BBC’s own production department there will be a 6x30mins variety show, Nick Helm’s Heavy Entertainment, in which the titular host will explore weighty issues and set the world to rights. Lion TV is making dating show Sexy Beasts. It was piloted earlier […]

Sky Atlantic poaches BBC Three’s Zai Bennett

BBC Three controller Zai Bennett is leaving the UK pubcaster to become director of Sky Atlantic. The news comes after the BBC announced that youth-skewing BBC Three will move to an online-only service. Bennett joined the BBC in 2011 and as boss of youth-skewed BBC Three has overseen shows including The Call Centre, Life And […]

BBC Three, ABC board next Chris Lilley Heights spin-off

The Australian and UK pubcasters are to broadcast the latest spin-off from Chris Lilley’s mockumentary Summer Heights High. Australia’s ABC yesterday unveiled its 2014 programming line-up, which included the untitled series. The BBC subsequently revealed BBC Three had come onboard the project, as it has done with other Lilley comedy projects. The Princess Productions and […]