Channel 4 Workshop for Sitcom Competition Finalists

Meet the Commissioners

Graham Smith

The way it works in the entertainment and comedy department now is quite different to how it was until about 18 months ago. Previously there was only one point of entry for ideas into the channel and basically because of the number of ideas that are out there, number of scripts, number of production companies, it became apparent it was not working. So under the supervision of Kevin Lygo the department has been changed radically, to create very much a team effort, we all operate on a level relationship, non-hierarchical system. Carol and myself are commissioning editors for entertainment although it covers all sorts of comedy. Cheryl Taylor has come in as the editorial point of contact for the sitcom department and there are also two deputy commissioning editors again, they are equal points of entry. The point being is that we're all there, we're all available. So if anyone has a relationship with Chez, with Caroline[Leddy] or myself... people can send stuff in to Chez and she will pass it to one of us. The point being we want to make the department as open and as welcoming to new ideas and to new relationships with all the writers, production companies, producers as humanely possible because that was always the problem before in the department - the sheer degree of work that one person had to deal with. The access to the department was quite difficult, we've changed that. Chez is the main point of entry for sitcom material. Caroline, with her background in radio comedy, is also great point of entry for scripted material or sketch material, etc. But really if any of you have a relationship with Caroline and it's not sketch based, it's performance based, please send it to her and it will find the right person in the department one way or the other.

Basically we want to present an open and welcoming space to people out there as we possibly can. Feel free to see any of us, if you're not sure who to come to then come to any of us and we shovel people around so you're dealing with the right person.

Cheryl Taylor

Basically we get an awful lot of sitcoms and it's quite a daunting job. There's between forty and fifty scripts in circulation, that might mean that some are in development and that means that Kevin, Caroline or myself have had a good idea and go forward and commissioned one more script - possibly more than that depending on the company. And if they're not in development...

Apart from that there are hundreds and hundreds of scripts that come in every year most of which, I have to say, we do give to readers [scripts from production companies get their priority due to prodco's backlog of work]. We have a look at scripts, send it to readers who do a full report, everything gets read from cover to cover. And based on those reports any inkling [of what we want is followed up]. If I read a script and really like it , I give it to Caroline so we can both get excited about it and if we both like it, we take it to Kevin and allow him to get excited about it as well. It's actually quite a straightforward process in that it's not just my opinion that would put a script forward. Working well, we have a lot of dialogue about scripts.

There are about 1200 scripts received each year a maximum of four will get on screen. It costs about a million for six episodes. It averages at about £200-250,000 an epi. There is a trend towards comedy drama which makes it 350 an epi.

[Caroline Leddy, Head of Comedy /
Katie Taylor, Deputy Comedy & Entertainment,
Channel 4, 124 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2TX, 
0207 396 4444]

1: Meet the Writers: Paul Mayhew Archer
2: Meet the Writers: Jenny Lecoat
3: The Actors Kick Back
4: Working with Comedy Producers
5: Meet the Commissioners