London- and Sydney-based prodco See-Saw Films (Slow Horses) has announced a first-look deal with A Gentleman in Moscow creator and showrunner Ben Vanstone.
Vanstone also created and executive produced four seasons of All Creatures Great & Small for Channel 5 and served as co-executive producer on The English Game for Netflix. His other credits include The Last Kingdom, The Borrowers, Cider with Rosie and Merlin.
The deal was negotiated by Josh Varney, CEO of management-production company 42, on behalf of Vanstone and Vanity Film & TV, and by See-Saw Films’ joint MD Simon Gillis, along with senior business and legal affairs executive Madeleine Brookman on behalf of See-Saw.
In related news, See-Saw and Vanstone have jointly hired Hannah Connell-Moylan to the role of head of development, reporting directly to Vanstone. Her recent credits include The Power for Amazon Prime and The Listeners for the BBC.
See-Saw Films was founded in 2008 by joint CEOs Emile Sherman and Iain Canning. It has produced scripted titles such as Heartstopper for Netflix and Sweetpea for UK satcaster Sky.
Joint MD Helen Gregory said: “We are so excited to be working with Ben and supporting him to tell the emotionally generous, beautifully crafted stories he excels at.
“We’re proud to be partnering with him as he builds on his impressively eclectic and enduring achievements and are looking forward to this next chapter of his career.”
Vanstone said: “I’m thrilled to be starting this new partnership with See-Saw Films. I’ve long admired the team’s distinctive, high-quality work and I look forward to collaborating on projects for years to come.
“I’m also excited to welcome Hannah Connell-Moylan to Vanity Film & TV, where she’ll play a key role in shaping our future projects.”
Mipcom 2024: ProSiebenSat.1’s Henrik Pabst, ITV Studios’ Ruth Berry, SpongeBob SquarePants and more
From Mipcom 2024, ProSiebenSat.1’s Henrik Pabst and ITV Studios’ Ruth Berry on digital transformation [00:47]; FRAPA’s Phil Gurin, TF1’s Julien Degroote and Entertainment Masterclass’s Christoph Fey on the future of TV formats [21:09]; former BBC exec Jo Redfern and Hidden Pigeon’s Karen Miller and Kris Updike on the crisis facing kids’ TV [38:19]; and SpongeBob SquarePants stars Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke on whether they’d be willing to license their voices to AI [66:36].
Mipcom 2024 preview, Banijay’s Cathy Payne and BBC Studios’ Nick Lee
The C21 team looks ahead to Mipcom 2024 and asks, is the industry experiencing a mid-life crisis? [00:36] Banijay Rights’ Cathy Payne on her biggest deal and receiving the Gold Award at the International Format Awards [36:00]; and BBC Studios’ Nick Lee gives his take on the present market [54:39].
BBC Studios’ natural history unit chief Jonny Keeling [01:50], Plimsoll’s Dr Martha Holmes [18:40], If Pigs Could Talk director Miki Mistrati [31:40], and WildBear Entertainment’s Craig Meade [57:11] discuss innovation in wildlife documentary making, from the use of AI, to micro-drones and social media.
