Hot Shots 2023: Daniel Omnes

A narcoleptic murderer, disabled dogs, a fertility fraudster, gay weddings, Donald Trump… when it comes to casting and access, Daniel Omnes clearly likes a challenge.

“Dan is bursting with ideas, with the unique ability to turn his hand to a project across any genre and handle it with enthusiasm, curiosity and inventiveness,” says Minnow Films creative director Sophie Leonard, praising his mixture of imaginative and accessible writing, editing and sense of visual storytelling.

Commissioners have gone out of their way to compliment Omnes’ pitch decks, with their eye-grabbing treatments and clarity of purpose.

In his first year with the indie, Omnes won Minnow a significant chunk of business from Netflix and the BBC, and large funded developments from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. Little wonder the indie rewarded him with a promotion to senior development producer.

Prior to Minnow, Omnes’ talent shone through on a string of documentaries. For Pulse Films’ feature-length film Dead Asleep for Sky Docs/Hulu, he gained access to a homicidal sleepwalker, his relatives and prosecution and defence lawyers, while on AJH Films/Rogo Productions/Zinc Media’s three-parter Unprecedented for Discovery+, his sensitive proposal decks and detailed treatment won extensive access to Donald Trump and his family.

Omnes is currently development producer on a Netflix retrospective about a yet-to-be-revealed US star, and his thumbprints are all over upcoming BBC1 special My Big Gay Wedding. As well as coming up with the original idea for the show, in which Tom Allen helps a gay couple prepare for their wedding, Omnes secured access to celebrities.

Peers point to Omnes’ working-class roots and kind-hearted nature as key to his ability to foster trust from such a variety of contributors.