Peter Chernin’s The North Road Company has completed its first major international acquisition, Karga Seven Pictures, one of Turkey’s leading film and TV producers.
Karga Seven established itself first as a creator of factual content in the US, before shifting to a global focus on scripted films and series. Its credits include Netflix’s English-language Rise of Empires: Ottoman and the Turkish-language time travel drama Midnight at the Pera Palace. The company also produces Turkish television drama series including Hekimoglu, adapted from the US series House.
Istanbul and Los Angeles-based Karga Seven’s founders Sarah Wetherbee, Emre Sahin, and Kelly McPherson, will remain in leadership roles.
Wetherbee and Sahin become global co-CEOs with McPherson as head of English-language content, alongside industry veteran and newly hired Ömer Müjdat Özgüner serving as Turkey CEO.
Sahin and Wetherbee will report into North Road president Jan Frouman, who led the deal for North Road and oversees growth strategy with a focus on international expansion.
Former Fox chief Chernin launched North Road in 2022 with the acquisition of Red Arrow’s US assets, including Kinetic Content. Karga Seven received majority investment from Red Arrow in 2015, but its acquisition by North Road is a separate deal.
In addition to its London-based international division, led by Frouman and president of international film & TV Kristin Jones, North Road’s portfolio includes Chernin Entertainment, unscripted group Red Arrow Studios, and nonfiction division led by Words + Pictures.
Chernin said: “Given its sheer volume of globally relevant and high-quality content, Turkey is a perfect fit with North Road’s broader international strategy, and the addition Karga Seven to our studio is a significant accomplishment.”
Sahin said: “Producing both in Turkey and internationally, our passion has always been finding ways to bridge our two worlds.”
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