Greenlit: The Great Falklands Gamble, Channel 5

The Great Falklands Gamble (1 x 60′) – POV documentary featuring insights and reflections from Royal Marines company commander Ian R Gardiner on his experiences during the Falklands conflict. Channel: Channel 5 Producer: Quickfire Media TX: 2012 Source: Broadcast

Greenlit: Would You Rather? With Graham Norton, BBC America

Would You Rather? with Graham Norton  (13  x 30′) – NYC-based comedy game show that tests how smart comics are. Channel: BBC America Producer: So Television TX: 3rd December, 2011 Source: Cynopsis

In: Kathleen Larkin, Development Executive, Factual Entertainment, Channel 4

Kathleen Larkin has been appointed as factual entertainment development executive at Channel 4, reporting to Liam Humphreys. Source: C21

Greenlit: Trek Nation, Science

Trek Nation (1 x feature-length) –  Documentary about Star Trek, including interviews with George Lucas, Stan Lee and fans. Channel: Science Producer: Rodenberry Entertainment / New Animal Productions / Atmosphere Pictures TX: Fall 2011 Source: C21

In Development: Ballet Beach, Logo

Ballet Beach –  Observational series following the dancers of a major Miami-based dance company. Channel: Logo Producer: Beach Pictures TX: TBC Source: Cynopsis

In Development: Design My Dog, Logo

Design My Dog –  Studio-based competition series in which style conscious dog owners attempt to create designer clothes for their dogs. A doggie modeling contract and cash prize awaits the winners. Channel: Logo Producer: 10×10 Productions TX: TBC Source: Cynopsis

Greenlit: 419: The Internet Romance Scam, Channel 4

419: The Internet Romance Scam (1 x 60′) –  Documentary that gives a gripping insight into the complex psychology of internet romance scams with unprecedented access to scammers in Nigeria. Internet dating is now more popular among the middle-aged than the young. More than a third of people between 40-69 who got together in the […]

Greenlit: Drug Kingpin Hippos, Animal Planet

Drug Kingpin Hippos (1 x 60′) – Documentary special about the late Pablo Escobar (Colombian drug baron) and his menagerie of 700+ animals including an escaped hippo. Channel: Animal Planet Producer: Explora Films TX: 19th July 2011 Source: Realscreen

Greenlit: The Genealogy Roadshow, RTÉ One / PBS

The Genealogy Roadshow (4 x 60′) -Derek Mooney hosts a show that promises to reveal the exciting hidden family histories of ordinary people with the help of expert genealogists. Several stories feature in each episode. Channel: RTÉ One / PBS Producer: Big Mountain Productions TX: August 2011 Source: IFTN

Meet the UK Factual Commissioners: Katy Thorogood, Commissioner Daytime and Factual, ITV

Katy Thorogood, Commissioner Daytime and Factual, ITV recently outlined her commissioning needs to attendees of the Broadcast Factual Forum. Click through to find out what she’s looking to commission in the coming months. (Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0)

Meet the UK Factual Commissioners: Steve Gowans, Head of Factual Entertainment, Five

Steve Gowans, Head of Factual Entertainment at Five recently outlined his commissioning needs to attendees of the Broadcast Factual Forum. Click through to see what’s hot and what’s not on Five. (Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0)

Meet the UK Factual Commissioners: Harry Lansdown, Commissioning Editor, Formats, Features and Specialist Factual, BBC3

Harry Lansdown, commissioning editor, formats, features and specialist factual, BBC3 recently outlined his commissioning needs to attendees of the Broadcast Factual Forum. Click through to see what’s working on the channel and what he wants to commission. (Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0)

Meet the UK Factual Commissioners: Jane Rogerson, Director of Commissioning, UKTV

Jane Rogerson, Director of Commissioning at UKTV recently outlined her commissioning needs to attendees of the Broadcast Factual Forum. Click through to find out what she’s looking to commission next. (Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0)

Meet the UK Factual Commissioner: Dan Korn, SVP Programming, Discovery Networks UK

Dan Korn, Senior Vice President, Programming, Discovery Networks UK recently outlined his commissioning needs to attendees of the Broadcast Factual Forum (March 2010). Dan oversees programming on thirteen Discovery channels in the UK: Discovery HD, Discovery Knowledge, Discovery Turbo, Discovery Science, Animal Planet, DMAX, Discovery Real Time, Discovery Home & Health, Discovery Travel & Leisure and Discovery Shed. Click through to find out what programmes are working for him at the moment, and what he’s on the look out for. (Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0)

Meet the UK Factual Commissioner: Charlotte Moore, Commissioning Editor, Docs and Features, BBC

Charlotte Moore, Commissioning Editor, Docs and Features at the BBC recently outlined her commissioning needs to attendees of the Broadcast Factual Forum (March 2010). Charlotte oversees BBC1, BBC2 and BBC4 and works alongside the commissioners for BBC3. Click through to find out what’s working at the moment and what she’s looking to commission in the coming months. (Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0)

Meet the UK Factual Commissioners: Andrew O’Connell, Head of Factual, Five

Andrew O’Connell, Head of Factual, Five recently outlined his commissioning needs to attendees of the Broadcast Factual Forum. Click through to see what’s working on Five and what kind of programmes they’re looking for. (Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0)

Greenlit: What I Hate About Me, The Style Network

What I Hate About Me (10×60′) –  Host Lisa Arch and a changing panel of experts help women to change ten things they hate about their lives, from debts to relationship issues to appearance. Channel: The Style Network TX: 2nd January 2010 Source: Cynopsis

Meet the Entertainment Commissioner: Matthew Littleford, UKTV

Matthew Littleford, Controller UKTV, recently outlined his commissioning needs to attendees of the Broadcast Entertainment Forum (as of September 2009). Matthew commissions entertainment across several channels at UKTV: Alibi, Gold, Watch and Dave. Matthew’s View on UKTV Gold – transmits classic BBC comedy and programmes that support that comedy. Alibi – Largely co-produced crime programmes; […]

Meet the Entertainment Commissioner: Mark Sammon, Virgin Media

Mark Sammon, Head of Commissioning at Virgin Media TV, recently outlined his commissioning needs to attendees of the Broadcast Entertainment Forum (as of September 2009). Mark commissions programmes for Virgin 1, Bravo and Living. Mark’s View on Living Living is aimed at young women; its competition is ITV2 and BBC3. Celebrities, dating, weddings and makeovers […]

Meet the Entertainment Commissioner: Mark Linsey, BBC

Mark Linsey, Controller of Entertainment Commissioning at the BBC, recently outlined his commissioning needs to attendees of the Broadcast Entertainment Forum (as of September 2009).

Photo by Torres CC BY 2.0
Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0

Looking For:

* Main agenda for the BBC is new talent.
* New talent can be given a platform on BBC3 – when pitching, think about the format that would best suit them.
* There is room on BBC2 for some more established talent.
* Need a chat show to replace Graham Norton’s show.
* Want some bold and ambitious new talent on BBC1
* Strong and distinctive formats.

How to pitch

* Likes to talk about an idea in its earliest stages, before it’s been too formatted.
* Likes regular dialogue with producers.
* When pitching, talk about the ambitious, bold and distinctive top line idea first.

(Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0)

Meet the Entertainment Commissioner: Richard Woolfe, Five

Richard Woolfe, Channel Controller at Five, recently outlined his commissioning needs to attendees of the Broadcast Entertainment Forum (as of September 2009).

Photo by Torres CC BY 2.0
Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0

Richard’s View on Five

* Five is looking for ‘fun’.
* Wants entertainment to be the flagship genre for Five.

Looking For:

* Programmes that will make the channel famous – noisy, talked-about programmes that have a life outside of TV eg. in the newspapers or on forums.
* Doesn’t want “me too” shows that feel derivative.
* Talent is important – has just signed up Justin Lee Collins. Generally wants established faces rather than new talent.
* Ideas for viewers aged 16-34 years.
* Big shows that resonate with the nation.
(Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0)

Meet the Entertainment Commissioner: Andrew Newman, Ch4

Andrew Newman, Head of Entertainment and Comedy at Channel 4, recently outlined his commissioning needs to attendees of the Broadcast Entertainment Forum (as of September 2009). Andrew’s View on Ch4 Channel 4 offers an alternative to the mainstream terrestrial channels. It’s a channel for big and bold programmes that no other channel would dare to […]

Meet the Controller: Richard Klein, BBC4

Richard Klein is Channel Controller for BBC4; he recently outlined his current channel strategy and needs (as of August 2009). Richard’s View on BBC4 BBC4 is challenging and intellectual but with a twinkle in its eye. Programmes should be thought provoking – it’s a place for diversity of opinion and controversy. Polemical pieces that make […]

Meet the Commissioner: Claudia Rosencrantz, Virgin Media

Claudia Rosencrantz is director of TV for Virgin Media; she recently outlined her current channel strategy and needs (as of August 2009).

Claudia’s View on Virgin Media

* Virgin channels consist of Virgin1, Bravo, Living and Challenge. Trouble was recently cancelled as its audience was too niche (boys aged 12-14 years).
* Living is a channel for women under 44 years, with some shared viewing (budget £60-£120 per hour).
* Living 2 will be rebranded channel in autumn 2009.
* Virgin 1 is warm, smart, and mixes it up (and sometimes takes it too far) eg. The Naked Office, Sun, Sea and A&E, Trawlers, Rigs and Rescues
* Bravo is male skewed to younger men eg. Danny Dyer’s Deadliest Men
* Not currently commissioning shows for Challenge.
* Can often commission very quickly. Click through for more.
(Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0)

Meet the Commissioner: Peter Fincham, ITV1

Peter Fincham is controller of ITV1; he recently outlined his current channel strategy and needs (as of August 2009). Peter’s View on ITV1 In factual programming, ITV1 is comfortable with authored celebrity journeys and in the ‘blue light’ genre. Coming Up Survival with Ray Mears Looking For: Formatted fact ent and entertainment in subject areas […]

Meet the Commissioner: Stuart Murphy, Sky1

Stuart Murphy is director of programming for Sky1; he recently outlined his current channel strategy and needs. * Wants the channel to have style, humour and warmth.
* There should be more intelligence and curiosity across the factual programmes.
* Sky1 programmes need to be good enough to pull people away from Freeview on onto subscription TV. Sky1 needs to be loved in the same way that HBO is loved by its audience: there should be 8-10 programmes that viewers “will crawl over broken glass to watch”.
* There will be 3D Sky channel by the end of 2010, so is thinking about shows that look good in 3D and HD 3D. Click through for more.

(Photo by torrez CC BY-SA 2.0)

Meet the Commissioner: Janice Hadlow, BBC2

Janice Hadlow is Channel Controller for BBC2; she outlined her current channel strategy and needs at the recent Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival. Here are the notes from her interview with Kirsty Walk.
(Photo by Torrez CC BY-SA 2.0)

Greenlit: Bang Goes the Theory, BBC1

Bang Goes the Theory (10×30′) – Dallas Campbell (Gadget Show) Jem Standsfield (Scrapheap Challenge), Dr Yan Wong and Liz Bonnin (RI:SE) present a new science show that looks at “the world’s most advanced technological breakthroughs”and shows how you can test scientific theories in your backyard. There will also be free events, interactive resources and a […]

Greenlit: The Mom Show, WE tv

The Mom Show (10×60′) –  Moms Laurie Gelman and Catherine Marion host a live daytime studio show that focuses on  tips and advice for moms and their children. Channel: WE tv Producer: Parenting Show Productions, Inc. TX: 12 June 09 Source: Cynopsis

Twitter Reality TV rumours

Word is that Twitter is developing an unnamed unscripted TV show that will put “ordinary people on the trail of celebrities in a revolutionary competitive format.”  More details to follow as they emerge. Producer: Reveille Productions / Brillstein Entertainment Partners / Twitter Source: Variety (Hat tip to Tech Crunch) Update: Twitter has said it’s not […]

BBC Commissioning – New Structure Updated

The BBC’s factual (know internally as Knowledge) commissioning department has been reorganised to remove the split between in-house and indie commissioning teams. There are now eight genre slates, each under the care of a specific commissioning editor: Arts – Mark Bell Documentaries – Charlotte Moore Features and formats on BBC1 and BBC2 – Jo Ball […]

In: Eliot Goldberg, TV Land

Eliot Goldberg has joined US cable channel TV Land as VP development and original programming with responsibility for TV Land Prime, which currently features programmes such as  How’d You Get So Rich? First Love, Second Chance and Make My Day. Eliot was previously head of development at Ryan Seacrest Productions, which makes Keeping Up with […]

Greenlit: Platinum Babies, WE tv

Platinum Babies (6×30′) – Ob doc series following new mothers who will spare no expense on pampering their babies. Currently casting in the Los Angeles area. Channel: WE tv TX: November 09 Source: Cynopsis

In: Karen Glass, Sony Pictures

Karen Glass has been promoted to VP development of alternative series for Sony in NYC. She is currently working on the launch of the forthcoming autumn launch of Dr Oz, and is also looking after The Newlywed Game (GSN) and Make My Day (TV Land). Glass is also the point person for productions such as […]