Mammoth’s Mavahalli to lead Sky’s in-house drama commissioning team

European pay TV broadcaster Sky has hired Preethi Mavahalli from ITV Studios-backed Mammoth Screen to lead its in-house drama commissioning team.

Preethi Mavahalli

Mavahalli has been appointed creative director of drama with a remit to develop and produce a slate of original drama from Sky Studios in the UK.

Her appointment follows that of Gabriel Silver as director of commissioning for drama in the UK.  Following director of drama Cameron Roach’s departure last year his role was split into two, one for in-house commissioning and one for third party greenlights.

Having developed and exec produced a range of series including The Serpent, Noughts + Crosses, and The War of the Worlds, Mavahalli will lead Sky Studios’ UK in-house drama team to create new Sky Originals for Sky’s European markets.

Currently director of drama at London based Mammoth Screen, producers of Poldark, Victoria and Endeavour, Mavahalli has developed and overseen a range of series which includes McDonald & Dodds and Next of Kin for ITV, as well as The City & the City and NW for BBC Two.

Prior to joining Mammoth in 2011, she worked at Film4 and Film London.

Sky Studios is developing a range of in-house projects across Europe, with production already underway on The Rising for Sky UK and Blocco 181 for Sky Italia. Both series are set to air next year.

In this newly created role, Mavahalli will report to chief content officer Jane Millichip, and is set to join Sky Studios in January 2022. Mavahalli’s team will include exec producers Kara Manley, Victoria Wharton, Serena Thompson and Beverly Brooker, and she will work alongside Silver.

Mavahalli, said: “I have been watching Sky Original drama go from strength to strength in recent years, constantly raising the bar with ambitious and ground-breaking series. With the launch of Sky Studios, and its unrivalled ambitions and ability to partner with talent, the bar has been set even higher and I could not pass up the opportunity to lead in-house drama. I can’t wait to get started.”

Millichip added: “Preethi is an exceptional talent. Her instincts for identifying great ideas and developing them into world-class television is second to none. We couldn’t be more excited to have her lead the next phase of Sky Studios’ push into in-house drama development and production.”