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Drama chief Mensah leaves Sky for Netflix

Sky’s director of drama is leaving the European satcaster after seven years to join global streaming giant Netflix.

Anne Mensah

Anne Mensah will join Netflix as its first London-based VP of content, reporting to VP of original content Cindy Holland, after announcing her departure from Sky on Monday.

She will oversee the team that develops and creates UK-based original series for the streamer, adding to a slate that already includes The Crown and Black Mirror.

Mensah has led the growth of original drama on Sky in the UK, adding shows including The Enfield Haunting, Fortitude, starring Michael Gambon, and Riviera, with Julia Styles, to her resume.

Cameron Roach, commissioning editor and deputy head of drama, will step into the lead drama role at Sky.

Prior to joining Sky, Mensah spent 10 years at pubcaster the BBC in roles including head of independent drama and head of drama for BBC Scotland. Her commissions there included Waterloo Road, Wallander, Case Histories and God on Trial.

Since moving to Sky she has been responsible for a string of scripted hits including Britannia, starring David Morrissey, Save Me, with Lennie James, and more recently Patrick Melrose, with Benedict Cumberbatch.

One of Mensah’s last acts in the job was to renew fantasy romance series A Discovery of Witches for second and third seasons.

Roach joined Sky as drama commissioning editor in 2013 having previously been part of the launch team for ITV2 at the UK commercial terrestrial broadcaster.

His first drama producing job was on prison drama Bad Girls for Shed Productions and after working on Footballers’ Wives he moved to Kudos Productions in 2007 to produce Life on Mars and later Mother Jones for the BBC.

Netflix says it has almost 40 UK-based original commissions and coproductions underway including drama Sex Education, comedy travelogue Jack Whitehall: Travels with my Father and new projects with Ricky Gervais, Idris Elba, Julian Fellowes and Katherine Ryan. Documentary series include Our Planet, voiced by Sir David Attenborough and filmed over four years in collaboration with Silverback Films and the WWF.

Collaborations with UK broadcasters include Black Earth Rising, Bodyguard, Collateral, Kiss Me First, Marcella, Giri/Haji, Wanderlust, Watership Down and the recently announced Dracula with BBC, and The End of the F***ing World with Channel 4.

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