EXCLUSIVE: Netflix’s top live unscripted programming exec may have departed in the States but in the UK the streamer wants to supercharge live shows and shiny floor.
Deadline is told that Netflix UK has in the past few months created a team responsible for live unscripted, which is being led by The Circle exec Daisy Lilley. Lilley has brought in on a fixed-term contract Claire Horton, a well-regarded unscripted exec whose EP credits include The Masked Singer UK, Michael McIntyre’s Big Show and All Together Now. She is a former ITV commissioning editor and controller of entertainment for ITV Studios.
Producers in the UK tell us that Netflix has spent the past few months scouting out potential live programming opportunities. These could range from live sport to event shows to talent contests. Lilley’s team is overseeing next month’s boxing match between Tyson Fury and Arslanbek Makhmudov, which is airing on Netflix from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Lilley has been in the Netflix UK unscripted team for nearly six years and worked on The Circle at Studio Lambert, which was a hit for Netflix and sold to different territories around the world.
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Recent examples of content that would work for Lilley’s team include Skyscraper Live and Building the Band, both of which were commissioned out of the States but made by UK indies, Plimsoll Productions and Remarkable. Skyscraper Live saw Free Solo climber Alex Honnold scale the Taiwan skyscraper Taipei 101 without the use of ropes, which was claimed to be the highest free solo climb of an urban structure. It made quite the splash and drew big ratings and headlines to Netflix. Building the Band was one of Netflix’s first attempts at a large-scale musical talent contest, and was dedicated posthumously to judge Liam Payne, who died shortly after filming.
Live shows and shiny floor therefore appear to be becoming a focal point of the Netflix UK unscripted team, which is responsible for the likes of Too Hot to Handle, The Circle and Celebrity Bear Hunt and will soon have a new leader in Syeda Irtizaali, The Traitors commissioner who is moving over from the BBC.
The highly-regarded Irtizaali, who replaces Ben Kelly, was one of the architects of the BBC-NBC deal that brought the smash-hit Traitors to the BBC and Peacock. She hasn’t started yet but her hire has been met with excitement from the UK’s production community.
We have revealed the existence of the Netflix UK live team just days after Deadline told you U.S. director of unscripted series Sahara Bushue was exiting. Bushue was overseeing live unscripted and performance series but shows like Star Search and Pop the Balloon didn’t break out for the former NBC exec. Netflix unscripted chief Jeff Gaspin had two years prior started hunting for broadcast-style entertainment formats.
Netflix UK has made splashy hires of late, bringing in the likes of Film4 boss Ollie Madden. Heading in the opposite direction was Adolescence exec Mona Qureshi, who moved to Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap to run its international studio.