Ollie Madden, Director of Film4 and Channel 4 Drama, is leaving the broadcaster after an eight-year stint to join Netflix as Director Of UK Film.The news was relayed to Channel 4 staff this morning via a memo, which you can read below. Madden is leaving in October.Madden, who will report to Anne Mensah, VP Content at Netflix, will lead Netflix’s UK film slate and act as the primary UK contact for films on Dan Lin’s slate where the IP, talent, and production are based in the UK (with the exception of family films for US and Canada, including Narnia and Dahl, which will continue to be overseen by Racheline Benveniste). He will also develop a handful of filmmaker-led series.Teresa Moneo, the Netflix vet who served as Director, International Original Film, and had assumed the head of UK film role since last year, quietly left the streamer earlier this year but will continue to work with them on Peaky Blinders.Back at Film4/C4, Farhana Bhula, Film4’s Head of Creative and Deputy Director, will take over as interim Director of Film4 effective from 1st July. Gwawr Lloyd, Commissioning Editor, Drama, will become Interim Head of Drama reporting to Ian Katz and will join his HoDs from 1st July. We’ve asked whether there will be any formal interview process for other candidates but have not heard back so it sounds like that barring any setbacks the plan is for Bhula and Lloyd to continue in these roles longer term.Per the memo below, Madden will continue to oversee the delivery of projects until October. Bhula and Lloyd will oversee their respective teams alone but will work together to maximise talent relationships and will co-exec Molly Manning-Walker’s new show with A24, which we announced yesterday.It’s a time of flux and challenge at Film4/C4. Madden’s exit comes just one month after news that Channel 4 boss Alex Mahon would also be stepping down after eight years at the helm. Channel 4’s content chief Ian Katz admitted to his team at the end of April that his own future was uncertain. In recent years the broadcaster has had to contend with more than 250 layoffs, further moves to digital and the channels’ relocation out of London. More recently, plans to grow an in-house production business have ruffled feathers, while latest annual results showed a decline in content spend but a surge in executive pay.Madden’s combined film and TV role was an unusual one in the business. Bhula and Lloyd now return to a more traditional structure. It has been a meteoric rise for the former in particular. Bhula worked in development and production at UK indies between 2012-2019 but has scaled the ranks in six years since then to assume one of Europe’s top film industry posts.Madden continued Film4’s impressive history of awards contenders and critical hits. His slate included Oscar-winning films Poor Things, The Zone of Interest and The Favourite. His series commissions were just starting to really ramp up and include work from writers such as Russell T Davies, Jack Thorne, Daisy Haggard, Roy Williams, Caroline O’Donoghue and James Graham. The drama division had been relatively quiet for a period but suddenly found its stride in the past year with a string of buzzy commissions that will now mostly air under new leadership.
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