Hot Shots 2024: Alex Browning

Described as “extremely driven and a talented director” by Matthew Dench of The Dench Arnold Agency, Alex Browning’s recent fortunes prove hard work does pay off.

He’s in the midst of expanding from episodic drama to high-end drama, starting with the second series of BBC1’s Granite Harbour, about a Jamaican police officer working on a murder investigation unit in Aberdeen.

For his prime-time debut, Browning was involved with the casting and location decisions, and took on full directorial responsibilities for the second episode of the three-parter.

The call came after Browning honed his craft directing more than 40 episodes of continuing and children’s series like Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and The Dumping Ground.

A voracious writer, he also wrote the short film Daylight Rules, starring T’Nia Miller and David Ajala, which Sky and the BFI commissioned him to direct in 2021. “It’s a black British genre film, shot in the regions of England, and the setting is anchored by nature – that’s something we don’t see very often in British television and film,” notes Dench.

Browning’s next steps continue this upward trajectory: he’s just landed a development deal with a major studio for a TV pilot he penned,

Dench says: “Alex is a self-starter. He is constantly looking to improve his knowledge base, is open to ideas and remains unphased by the challenges that production can throw up.”