Workerbee production head joins The ATS Team

Los Angeles-based indie The ATS Team has appointed Workerbee’s head of production Nicola Griffiths as senior vice president of production. 

At Endemol Shine label Workerbee, Griffiths has been responsible for unscripted programming including The Bridge (Channel 4, HBO Max), Hot Wheels (NBC) and Bear Hunt (Netflix), which adventure specialists The ATS Team provided production services on. 

The ATS Team provides production challenge development, set construction and art direction services across North America, Southeast Asia, Europe and Australia for the Ninja Warrior franchise, Ultimate Beastmaster (Netflix), The Titan Games with Dwayne Johnson USA (NBC) and Holey Moley (ABC).  

Focusing on The ATS Team’s slate of original IP, Griffiths will work between Manchester and the company’s London, LA and Lisbon offices to continue developing its international formats, alongside ATS’s development and production executive, Shayna Waldman. She will report to managing director and chief operating officer Danny Sanz.

Griffiths has previously worked as a production manager at ITV and Mentorn, and as a production coordinator on Blue Peter and Towie. With her experience of securing tax credits, international distributions, and running multi-million budgets, she will be charged with forging strong co-production deals and relationships with indies, broadcasters, and streaming platforms. 

She said: “Having worked closely with The ATS Team for a number of years I’ve seen firsthand the skills, expertise and dedication of its team to delivering world class shows around the world. For a start not enough people in the industry know that The ATS Team is responsible for the production of nearly 90 (yes, 90!) seasons of Ninja Warrior around the world. 

Griffiths added that her ambition is “to come on board, foster further relationships with co-production partners, and both develop and get commissioned the brilliant original IP on its slate”. 

Sanz said: “Bringing Nicola on board to The ATS Team will be a jewel in our crown – we’ve worked with her for years and know she’s one of the most experienced heads of department in the business. Plus, we genuinely love working with her and feel completely honoured that this is the next step for her after being with the brilliant folks at Workerbee.”