EXCLUSIVE: Hit CBS comedy Ghosts got here out of an attention-grabbing deal between BBC Studios, the manufacturing arm of the British public broadcaster, and Lionsgate.
That deal, which was initially signed in 2018, has now come to an finish, Deadline understands.
This comes as two of the important thing executives concerned within the co-production pact, Rachel Bendavid and Angie Stephenson, have secured new roles at BBC Studios LA Productions, the Culver Metropolis-based division of the BBC.
“Our scripted co-production partnership with Lionsgate has been profitable and productive, resulting in one of many largest hit comedies on tv. Whereas we’ve got mutually agreed to not lengthen our formal enterprise settlement, Lionsgate will stay a valued associate, and we’ll proceed to work collectively for years to come back on the hit present Ghosts and on an array of tasks in improvement,” a BBC Studios spokeswoman advised Deadline. “We’re happy to welcome Rachel Bendavid to our in-house group at BBC Studios and dedicated to our sturdy, persevering with collaboration with Lionsgate.”
Former ABC drama govt Bendavid took the job of operating the three way partnership as head of programming in 2020. She is going to now segue to a task at BBC Studios Productions.
She is going to change into EVP, Scripted Programming for BBC Studios Productions, as will Angie Stephenson, who was beforehand SVP, Scripted Growth at BBC Studios and an exec producer on Ghosts.
Rachel Bendavid & Angie Stephenson (BBC Studios)
The pair will now report into Valerie Bruce, the Head and Normal Supervisor of BBC Studios Los Angeles Manufacturing. The pair may even work carefully with BBC Studios Productions’ President of Scripted, Mark Linsey.
This group will probably be tasked with determining what BBC Studios subsequent plan of assault is with regards to producing content material for U.S. broadcasters and streamers in addition to co-producing titles and discovering U.S. remakes of its library of scripted codecs.
It comes as Ghosts is getting into its third season. The three way partnership has additionally spawned sequence comparable to Fox’s Welcome To Flatch, which was a remake of BBC3 comedy This Nation and ran for 2 seasons, and Name Me Kat, the remake of BBC1 comedy Miranda, which ran for 3 seasons on Fox.
Bendavid spent a decade as VP drama improvement at ABC, the place she labored on sequence comparable to The Good Physician and As soon as Upon a Time. Previous to that she was a drama improvement govt at Fox, together with a stint as co-head of the division. Bendavid’s resume additionally embrace a four-year tenure at Spelling TV, the final two as SVP of sequence improvement, and a stint as director of sequence tv at Lifetime.
“Rachel and Angie are each exceptionally completed, and I’ve confidence that they may mix their abilities to assist us gas the continued development of our scripted enterprise,” mentioned Bruce.
“We couldn’t be extra thrilled to guide BBC Studios LA scripted programming into its subsequent chapter,” added Bendavid and Stephenson. “BBC Studios has a number of the most beloved and profitable international manufacturers to encourage us, a ardour for inventive excellence, nice story telling, and excellent expertise on either side of the Atlantic. We’re really enthusiastic about what lies forward.”
