UK’s Pulse Films to end TV content production as parent company Vice Studios makes redundancies
Pulse Films was behind Gangs of London for Sky and AMC
Gangs of London maker Pulse Films is to stop production of TV and film content after parent company Vice Studios Group made a number of layoffs in the UK.
The celebrated scripted prodco, which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary and has made shows such as Netflix factual hit The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann and Sky action series Atomic, will now make only branded content, music videos and commercials.
According to reports by Deadline, Vice has made layoffs in Pulse’s London headquarters, with all future scripted projects – such as a fourth season of Sky/AMC gangster series Gangs of London – to now be taken over by Vice Studios in LA.
Vice Studios Group co-president Jamie Hall last week was named the new scripted MD for BBC Studios Productions, with the former Pulse Films chief operating officer and president of scripted TV set to take up his new role in January 2026.
Vice Studios is led by former Amazon and Paramount executive Amy Powell, who was named president in May. In August, Vice raised US$75m via a new credit facility led by Western Alliance Bank, with plans to use the funds to support content investment through Vice Studios.
The company said the credit facility was part of a larger five-year, US$500m investment in developing and producing scripted and unscripted content for TV, streaming and digital.
Pulse was impacted in 2022 by the departures of founders and CEOs Thomas Benski and Marisa Clifford, who stepped down after 16 years at the prodco. Their departure came six years after the pair, who founded Pulse Films in 2005, sold a controlling interest to Vice Media Group.
Benski subsequently joined forces with French actor Omar Sy (Lupin) and Hollywood director Louis Leterrier to launch scripted outfit Carrousel Studios in 2024, as well as rolling out talent- and IP-led media group and venture capital firm Lumina late last year. In September, Lumina made a seven-figure investment in creator-first UK management group Arcade, which represents YouTube collective The Sidemen.
When contacted by C21 for comment, Vice Studios said earlier reports about Pulse Films were “factually inaccurate” and damaging at a time when the group was expanding its scripted and unscripted offering.
A Vice spokesperson said: “Pulse has not been closed, nor has production activity stopped.
“We recently consolidated all longform film and TV work under the unified Vice Studios banner, a rebranding completed months ago for clarity and alignment. All activity remains in place. The teams developing and producing our projects are unchanged and the pipeline is growing.
“Pulse remains part of our brand group alongside London Alley, Virtue and Ruckus Films, and continues to operate across commercials, music videos and branded entertainment. A small number of London roles were made redundant as responsibilities moved to our LA studio hub. This was a limited adjustment and by no means a closure.”
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