Channel 4 is doubling its drama budget and number of commissions as part of genre chief Ollie Madden’s strategy for the division, Screen’s sister site Broadcast can reveal.
Speaking to Broadcast, the recently-installed head of drama and director of Film4 said the increase is central to C4’s plan to become a streaming-first public service broadcaster, with drama a key driver of viewers to its digital platform.
Madden and his TV commissioning team will now order around 10 original scripted projects per year, with the first tranche being finalised now, to go into production next year for transmission in 2026.
Madden has previously announced James Graham-penned and Stephen Frears-directed drama Brian And Margaret, produced by Baby Cow and starring Steve Coogan, as his debut order and has added Summerwater, Trespasses and near-to-greenlight Deadpoint to his growing slate.
While he couldn’t disclose figures, Madden confirmed the budget is twice the amount that was previously available to the drama commissioning team.
“We have double the money we had previously, and we’ll be using that very significant budget increase to commission double the number of shows,” he said. “We’re not trying to do more with the same [previous budget] or a marginal increase – it’s a huge bet on drama.
“We want to have a drama offering consistently throughout the year, and by doing that number of shows we can really start to build a relationship with our audience and provide a much more regular cadence of dramas.”
The four series to emerge under his tenure so far vary from a love story set against the backdrop of The Troubles, Trespasses, starring Lola Petticrew, Tom Cullen and Gillian Anderson; to a face-off between mountain climbers and a far-right organisation, Deadpoint; to a Scotland-set exploration of family, class, sex and tolerance, Summerwater. The commissions highlight the intended “eclecticism” of his slate.
Madden said the shows, and yet-to-be announced orders, reflect the values he wants his department’s output to be synonymous with: innovative, envelope-pushing and offering opportunities to new talent, while remaining “remit-driven and commercial”.
“Those four shows announced all have the DNA to achieve those things. There’s an opportunity for every one of our shows to aspire to do both; that’s not easy and not every show is going to be a cultural talking point and do huge numbers, but that that’s always going to be our ambition,” he said.
Madden is also seeking pitches from parts of the UK and cultures that don’t usually see themselves on-screen, citing the success C4 has had with original Queenie and its upcoming HBO co-pro Get Millie Black.
“I want to offer audiences something that feels fresh be it a voice, subject matter, point of view or subculture they haven’t explored before, but that can reach a broad audience because it’s original and well-executed,” he said.
“C4 drama has to be audacious and unexpected; you have to tune into a channel for drama and not know what you’re going to get but be impressed by what you do get.”
The drama team is also working closer with acquisitions chief Polly Scates’ team to ensure there is a “continuity” in the types of shows being bought and those being commissioned.
Cross-pollinating talent
At the time C4 published the Fast Forward strategy in January, content boss Ian Katz expressed his desire to bring the film and drama teams together to “encourage talent to work across our platforms”.
Madden is running with this mantra, noting that Trespasses marks the scripted TV debut for Wildgaze Films, best-known for its feature films, including Bafta winners Brooklyn and An Education.
While the Film4 and TV commissioning teams operate separately with separate budgets, Madden manages both and wants to foster an environment of communication between the teams “so that talent can make C4 their home and pursue the best way to tell their stories, be that as theatrical feature films or as episodic drama”.
He added: “We feel it’s very forward-looking to be much more joined up as an organisation and not be siloed in the way we’re thinking or commissioning.”
Though C4 has previously confirmed Film4’s budget will be reduced by 10% from £25m to £22.5m this year, Madden stressed this was not to accommodate the growth in TV investment.
“Neither budget has been compromised in any way – in the case of the TV budget it’s doubled – so this isn’t about cost-saving, it’s about being as competitive and dynamic and making ourselves an attractive home for talent.”
Film4 has established strong ties with big ticket names in films such as Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things), Martin McDonagh (The Banshees Of Inisherin) and Jonathan Glazer (The Zone Of Interest). Madden said “we would love that” talent to be brought over to TV, revealing conversations are ongoing with similarly high-profile creatives to make the transition.
He added this is true for Film4’s roster of emerging talent and C4 is currently in conversations with director Molly Manning Walker – whose debut is Bafta-nominated Un Certain Regard prize-winner How To Have Sex – about a project for the small screen. He is also planning talks with Bafta-winner Savanah Leaf (Earth Mama) and Love Lies Bleeding director Rose Glass about potential TV projects.
He said: “Most of things we commission will be series that have the potential to return, but we’re still going to do the very best, high-impact limited series. Brian And Margaret and Trespasses are examples of that, they both have big-name talent that can pull in an audience.”
Film4 balance
Madden revealed he is “constantly wearing both hats” since he was handed TV and film responsibilities in March, but doesn’t see the value in “mechanically splitting [his] time” between the divisions, instead preferring to move between them as required.
“What’s been interesting is we’re now doing meetings with producers and talent and having conversations about TV projects and film projects in the same meeting,” he added. He points to his attendance at this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival quickly followed by the Venice and Toronto film festivals as an example of this.
Madden admitted he has unshouldered some feature duties to his Film4 team as he gets to grips with the drama department, confident in the “shorthand and instinctive synergy” they have developed over the years with head of creative Farhana Bhula and senior commissioner David Kimbangi.
“It’s all about trust and being clear about what we’re looking for and what is going to move the needle for us in terms of commissioning on both sides,” he elaborated.
“In drama we’re the buyer, as opposed to Film4 where we work with external third-party distributors, sales agents, etc. Getting to know the [TV] press and marketing and the scheduling teams has been a process over the last few months that I’ve enjoyed and getting the understanding of how to work within the structures at C4.”
He also notes the similarities between the two mediums, highlighting how TV funding is becoming more like that for independent film.
“The days of getting a UK greenlight and the show being financed with one call to an international distributor are dwindling, if not gone,” he said. “This doesn’t mean every show has to be big and difficult and have multi-part finance. We’re looking at commissioning at a range of tariffs.
“Every film at Film4 is a co-production because we don’t fully finance and I hope that we can utilise our skills and instincts to talk to producers and work in partnership with them to help get their TV shows financed.”
A version of this story first appeared on Screen’s sister site, Broadcast
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