A distributor at its peak

Schitt’s Creek, Brassic and A Year From Space: none of these critically acclaimed shows were produced for ITV channels or ITVX, neither were they made by ITV Studios indies. Yet, in spite of the lingering misconception that ITV Studios’ distribution business is primarily internally focused, they are all celebrated brands within the company’s catalogue, of which Executive Vice-President of Global Content Julie Medal-Johnsen is immensely proud.

“People still say to me, ‘I didn’t think we could bring you shows that aren’t on ITV’, or they think we’re already well catered for, but we are simply hungry for all the best shows on the market, whoever they are made by,” she says.

Indie connections

While ITV Studios boasts some of the best production labels out there – from World Productions, Mammoth Screen and Quay Street Productions in drama to Plimsoll and Twofour in unscripted, with Meldal-Johnsen saying she is “spoiled by the talent we’ve got” – it also counts indies such as Woodcut Productions, Hat Trick Mercurio, Blink Films and Impossible Factual as third parties with which it has strong relationships, and wants to bring more into the fold.

Sometimes, of course, mutually attractive working relationships can develop into something more formal – World was not part of ITV Studios when it brought The Bodyguard to the table, for example. But that’s the exception rather than the rule – she stresses independence is paramount and ITV Studios does not lock producers into long-term first-look deals.

“Particularly in unscripted, larger indies have a varied slate and like their independence from a distributor, and want to pick the partner they think is best for that project,” she says. “That’s cool with us – we want to be good partners for the right content at the right time.”

Meldal-Johnsen’s 11-strong team is tasked with having early discussions with producers about their development slate and how these shows might slot into ITV Studios’ current portfolio. “If we want a show, it’s up to us to find the producer; nobody else is tasked with making those introductions. The indie sector is really important to us and we want to promise our clients we’ve got the best of the best – so we need to find it wherever we can.”

One project exciting her is The Way, a BBC drama that brings together the talents of James Graham, Adam Curtis and Michael Sheen. The first project ITV Studios has worked on with Bethan Evans’ Welsh indie Red Seam, it came to ITVS already greenlit. “It’s an event series, but like nothing else we’ve ever seen,” she says.

Crime drives the drama slate, though as Meldal-Johnsen points out, the genre is a rich mix of cosy ‘blue sky’ series, dark serialised stories, Nordic crime, American thrillers and beyond. Feedback from the recent London Screenings highlighted growing awareness of the variety of ITV Studios’ slate.

Fresh voices

“We’re open to different voices and fresh, distinctive content,” she says. “Yes, we’re looking for blue-sky procedural crime drama, because there’s a big audience for that, but we’re open to bespoke, potentially quite niche but noisy drama as well.”

One of ITV Studios’ biggest drama titles last year was The Ipcress File – an ITV show, but a distinctive, internationally appealing drama that she believes could have played anywhere. Feature film company Altitude Films was dipping its toe into high-end TV drama and ITV Studios took a “calculated gamble” in bringing it to market, securing pre-sales partners around the world, including AMC.

On an even bigger scale was Plimsoll’s A Year On Planet Earth, acquired prior to the label becoming part of the ITV Studios family, which needed international co-pro partners in the US, Germany and China to enter production.

Meldal-Johnsen is emphatic: the indie sector is in rude health, the buyers are out there, and nothing is off the table. “Our clients are linear broadcasters, they’re commercial broadcasters, they’re artsy broadcasters, they’re edgy broadcasters. There are SVoDs, cable channels – we sell to everybody and we’re a global distribution business of scale.”