Christian Wikander, the screenwriter who left HBO Max this summer in the wake of streamer cuts in Europe, has a new role.
He has been appointed Global Head of Scripted at Banijay and will assume the role on 1 May 2023, with Lars Blomgren leaving the company at the same time following the decision to leave the company.
He was tasked with overseeing Banijay’s script slate worldwide, driving collaborations between the super-indie’s 50+ drama labels and identifying third-party acquisitions.
He was HBO Max Nordic’s commissioning editor and VP, original programming between 2020 and 2022 when his roles became obsolete, Deadline revealed.
Other executives who left with the reorganization include HBO Max EMEA VP Original Programming and Production CEE Johnathan Young and Annelies Sitvast, Head of Unscripted Original Production. A total of 29 employees left the company.
At Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service he was responsible for the development of original series in Scandinavia from HBO Max. Previously, he was Managing Director for London-based company Twelve Town, where he joined in 2016 as Head of Drama for Europe, working on series such as Viaplay. conspiracy of silence. Wikander was also head of drama at SVT in Sweden.
In his new role at Banijay, he will report to Banijay CEO Marco Bassetti, who said: “As commissioner, CEO and producer, Christian has not only demonstrated his immense creative talent and executive dexterity, but more importantly, his own natural eye to spot a story with international potential. We believe that with him we have even more opportunities to expand our premium scripted offering and build on Banijay’s reputation as a leader in both local and English-language drama that connects global audiences.
Wikander said 2023 will be “a year of origins, returns and traveling scripted hits.”
Banijay’s script SAS: Rogue Heroes bbc one, Marie Antoinette for Canal+ and BBC Two, femdom for Sky Atlantic, Driving in the dark for C-More/TV4)Ronja for replay)incidents for C-Meer, TV4 and ZDFEvil for Paramount+) and Ripley for show time.
Author: Jesse Whittock
Source: Deadline
Joseph Fearn is an entertainment and television aficionado who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a keen eye for what’s hot in the world of TV, Joseph keeps his readers informed about the latest trends and must-see shows.
