Channel 4 Hires Charlie Perkins As Head Of Comedy
UK broadcaster Channel 4 has hired Charlies Perkins as its new head of comedy, replacing Fiona McDermott, who recently left to join Apple TV+ after delivering series such as Derry Girls, We Are Lady Parts and Big Boys. The hire brings to an end a lengthy search for McDermott’s successor. Perkins will report directly to Chief Content Officer Ian Katz and will manage a team comprising newly promoted Commissioning Editor Laura Riseam and Commissioning Executive Joe Hullait. She will also oversee the appointment of a Senior Commissioning Editor, and Deadline understands several candidates have been approached. Perkins arrives from London-based Blink Industries, which is behind the upcoming series Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared for Channel 4. Perkins began her career on shows such as Little Britain, French & Saunders, Benidorm and Mock the Week, moving on to become a producer at alternative comedy venue The Invisible Dot, BBC Radio Comedy and Cave Bear Productions. She is also one of the co-founders of the Live Comedy Association and founder of the Free-Free Movement. “Channel 4 comedy has always been about betting on brilliant and iconoclastic new talent and Charlie is squarely in that tradition,” said Katz.
Mipcom Gears Up With Co-Pro Market As 200 Exhibitors Signed Up
Events firm RX says more than 200 exhibitors have signed up for October’s in-person Mipcom event in Cannes, and has lined up an international co-production market segment. Those booked for stand space hail from 30 countries, with most returning to their pre-pandemic booth sizes or larger spaces, according to RX. Warner Bros. International Television Distribution, NBCUniversal and Paramount Global Content Distribution are signed up and talks with the likes of BBC Studios, Sony and Disney are understood to be continuing. The event, held on October 17-20 at the Palais des Festivals, will also host The Seaview Producers Hub, billed as a 1,000 sq meter networking lounge set against Cannes’ sea front, to reflect increased focus on early stage development and Lucy Smith, RX France Entertainment Division Director, said 2022 was “undoubtedly the comeback years for Mipcom Cannes,” adding: “A healthy set of confirmations four months out from the market, with more being added daily, demonstrates the huge appetite for the return of a full strength MIPCOM. And, unhampered by last year’s travel restrictions, to meet increased demand we have a supersized edition planned for this October in Cannes.”
Malaysia’s Lil Critter Workshop Sets Up In UK
Malaysian animation house Lil Critter Workshop (LCW) is expanding is setting up a studio in the UK. Based in Bristol, the studio will focus on developing the company’s own IP and working with creative talent, studios and co-production partners in the UK and across Europe. LCW’s Co-Founder and executive producer Walid Omar is looking to recruit senior development executives and creative staff and plans to work with freelance writers and IP owners who can collaborate with his team in Malaysia. “The UK is the natural home for our expanded business – not only was I raised and spent much of my formative career there, but the UK has a vast array of creative talent that we want to work with to build our slate of original IP,” he said. LCW’s latest show is action adventure toon Billy Fei and the Cloud Trials, co-developed with Scribble Studios and recipient of a grant from Epic Games. Canadian producer/distributor Bejuba! Entertainment is attached as international distributor.
Ventana Sur Heralds Return To “Business As Usual” For 2022 Edition
Latin America’s biggest film and TV market, Ventana Sur is gearing up for a return to pre-pandemic levels of business at its 14th edition. The event, a joint venture between Cannes’s Marché du Film and Argentinian film org INCAA, is due to run in Buenos Aires from November 28 to December 2022. Alongside its central market, project development initiatives — spanning Animation!, the horror and genre-focused Blood Window, Las Maquinitas (aimed at videogame development) and SoloSerieS — will also return as in-person events. Fresh initiatives include a new Tinta Oscura competition offering a $25,000 prize for the best fantasy film script in Blood Window selection “After an online 2020 and hybrid 2021 edition, we are thrilled to be able to get back to business as usual in Buenos Aires,” said Ventana Sur’s co-director Jérôme Paillard. Market veteran Paillard retired in May as the Cannes Marché du Film’s director in a planned and structured exit but remains in place at Ventana Sur as its co-director
