Christian Vesper has been promoted to President of Global Drama at Fremantle, the production and distribution giant behind hit dramas including Luca Guadagnino’s We Are Who We Are, American Gods, and The Salisbury Poisonings – BBC One’s biggest new drama launch for six years.
As Fremantle’s new President of Global Drama, Vesper will oversee the company’s efforts to grow the slate of prestige and mainstream dramas further cementing Fremantle’s emerging position as the home for high-end international drama. Based in London, Vesper will take on day-to-day management of the global drama team, reporting into Andrea Scrosati, Group Chief Operating Officer, who has overall responsibility for Fremantle scripted activities (drama and film) and work in close partnership with regional drama leads.
Vesper moves up from being Executive Vice President and Creative Director, Global Drama at Fremantle, which he joined in 2016 as part of the RTL-owned company’s strategy to become a global leader in the scripted arena. Vesper was previously drama chief at Sundance TV where he oversaw critically-acclaimed international productions including Jane Campion’s Top Of The Lake and Hugo Blick’s The Honourable Woman, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal , Deutschland 83, and domestic series Hap And Leonard, created by novelist Joe R. Lansdale, and Ray MacKinnon’s Rectify, a huge critical success made with Breaking Bad producer Gran Via and ran for 4 seasons. Vesper previously held roles at HBO; entertainment industry start-up iFilm; October Films and USA Film.
With creative oversight across all territories, Vesper and his global drama team will support Fremantle’s international network of scripted labels, which include The Apartment, Wildside, Fremantle North America and Euston Films – helping producers to develop their creative vision, leverage the global marketplace and elevate local projects with world class talent to achieve a bigger international impact.
In this capacity, Vesper and his team will continue to support projects such as Picnic At Hanging Rock, which was produced by Fremantle Australia for Foxtel and Amazon; Dublin Murders, produced by Euston for BBC and Starz; My Brilliant Friend, with Wildside/The Apartment and HBO; and the recently announced Mosquito Coast, which Fremantle US is currently making with Apple.
In addition, Vesper and his team will continue to focus on establishing international co-productions; negotiating first look deals with third party producers such as Fabula; and cultivating talent and talent deals to support development. At Fremantle, Vesper has personally overseen the recent third party projects La Jauria (Amazon), from Pablo and Juan De Dios Larrain’s company Fabula and their first look deal, No Man’s Land (Hulu, Arte) with French producer Haut et Court, and The Luminaries (BBC, Starz) with Working title.
Andrea Scrosati, Group COO, Fremantle says: “Christian has helped Fremantle put together a collection of some of the best creatives and producers in the global high-end TV drama space . His passion for challenging the status quo of storytelling, with his unique creative instincts and ability to forge deep relationships makes him an exceptionally gifted executive. Jen and I are very grateful to have him on our team.”
Christian Vesper, President of Global Drama, Fremantle says: “I’m proud to have distinguished Fremantle amongst our competition, to help deliver truly global, critically acclaimed dramas, and for being the place that creatives and producers feel at home knowing they have full creative independence. As our global teams move into greater alignment, it’s important for us to present a clear Fremantle drama vision to attract the best ideas and talent from around the world and stand-out in this dynamic market.”
