Kudos alum to head Sister label

Jane Featherstone’s Sister Pictures has unveiled a new comedy label to be run by the former head of development at Endemol Shine Group-owned Kudos.

Jane Featherstone

Hootenanny will be led by Naomi de Pear, who joined Sister Pictures in June. There she was reunited with former Kudos CEOs Featherstone and Dan Isaacs, the latter joining in February.

De Pear, an exec producer for Sister, is working with Featherstone on new drama projects and will also oversee Hootenanny, which will focus on authored comedy series.

Channel 4 in the UK has already ordered two comedies from the label, including a new season of dark comedy Flowers, which stars Olivia Coleman and is coproduced with Kudos.

Also on its slate is The Bisexual, which was announced this month and was created by and stars Desiree Akhavan. De Pear developed both shows and will executive produce them.

Featherstone said the label would “add a new dimension” to Sister, with its focus on authored comedy.

De Pear added: “Comedy is an important form, not an entertaining distraction, and I believe in its ability to anarchically play with expectation.

“Initially, my focus will be to work closely with writers on authored comedies that break the mould and have something to say, like Will’s bold and poetic Flowers and Desiree’s sophisticated and authentic The Bisexual.”

De Pear started her career performing live comedy and between 2012 and 2015 was head of development at Kudos, working on shows including Humans, River and Boy With a Topknot.

Featherstone left Kudos, as well as her co-chairman position at parent company Shine UK, in 2015 after 15 years with the firm following the merger of Endemol, Shine and Core Media.

Her new firm, launched in January, is producing drama for both UK and international buyers, including The Split, a show set in the world of divorce lawyers from The Hour creator Abi Morgan.