A24 has strengthened its U.K. office with another poaching of senior executives from the local industry.
Laura Lankester and Will Johnston, co-CEOs of Lookout Point, the BBC Studios-owned company that has produced a raft of prestige dramas such as “Les Miserables,” “A Suitable Boy,” “War & Peace,” “Gentleman Jack,” “Renegade Nell” and the final season of “Happy Valley,” are set to join A24 as it looks to grow its international TV operations.
The two bolster a team in the U.K. led by Piers Wenger and Rose Garnett, who themselves were hired from the BBC in a major coup back in 2022.
Lankester and Johnston, who will leave their currents positions this autumn, will also continue to produce and deliver Netflix‘s recently-unveiled adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice,” written by Dolly Alderton and starring Emma Corrin, Jack Lowden and Olivia Colman, for Lookout Point and BBC Studios, while Lankester will also oversee BritBox’s “Tommy and Tuppence” for Lookout Point and BBCS.
A24’s U.K. expansion comes as its Brit series slate begins to gather serious momentum, with the recent commission of Molly Manny Walker’s “Major Players” (Channel 4), Miriam Battye’s “The Husbands” (Apple TV+) starring Juno Temple, Leo Reich’s “It Gets Worse” (Channel 4), Michaela Coel’s “First Day on Earth” (BBC/HBO) and Alice Birch’s “Ministry of Time” (BBC). It’s also working on Adam Curtis’ BBC series “Shifty,” Season 2 of “Dreaming Whilst Black” and “Such Brave Girls,” and is behind the adaptations of “Magnolia Parks” as well as the Liverpool FC series written by “Adolescence” scribe Jack Thorne.
“We are excited and invigorated to join A24,” said Lankester and Johnston in a joint statement. “Their commitment to creative excellence is an inspiration, and to build with Piers and Rose is a wonderful new opportunity. Our time at Lookout Point has been a real joy and incredibly formative. We are deeply grateful to the colleagues and friends we have been honoured to work with, and to BBC Studios for ten years of success and partnership.”
In a statement provided to Variety, BBC Studios head of scripted Mark Linsey wished Lookout Point departing CEOs “all the best” in their new roles, saying that he was “really pleased that they will continue to oversee delivery of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ for Netflix and ‘Tommy and Tuppence’ for BritBox on behalf of Lookout Point.” He added: “The label remains in excellent creative health, with several unannounced projects in development, and we’ll be announcing new leadership shortly. I want to thank them both for their outstanding contributions and I’m excited for this next stage of LookoutPoint’s story.”
Lankester’s credits as an exec producer for Lookout Point include Sally Wainwright’s “Gentleman Jack” (BBC/HBO), “A Suitable Boy” (BBC/Netflix), “Last Tango in Halifax” (BBC/PBS) and “Devil’s Peak.” She also script produced “Andrew Davies’ “War and Peace” and “Les Misérables,” after joining the company from the BBC, and began her career working with Davies on “The Line of Beauty” and as a script editor in both development and production at Kudos.
Johnston also joined Lookout Point from the BBC, where he script edited “War & Peace” and “To Walk Invisible,” and prior to that worked in development at Working Title Films. He recently delivered the Disney+ original series “Renegade Nell” and the BAFTA and RTS award-winning final series of “Happy Valley.” As an executive producer his credits include the second season of “Gentleman Jack” and “A Suitable Boy.”
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