Sky Studios has hired The Ink Factory’s Katherine Butler to head up drama commissioning as it prepares to upscale its slate of original dramas.
Overseeing all UK and Ireland commissions, Butler will lead Sky’s team of drama commissioners including a new hire, executive producer Adrian Sturges.
As creative director of The Ink Factory, Butler oversaw the producer’s international creative strategy for TV and film in London, Los Angeles and across Asia.
Her previous roles include head of film and TV drama at Raw, head of development at Ruby Films and deputy head of film at Film4.
Sturges, whose credits include Netflix series The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself and HBO/Sky Studios’ 2019 drama The Third Day, joins three established executive producers in the team: Sam Hoyle, Serena Thompson and Kara Manley.
Sturges joins this month, followed by Butler in the new year. They are the first appointments made by Sky Studios’ director of original drama Meghan Lyvers, who joined in June.
Lyvers said the hires signal the company’s “commitment to build an increasingly ambitious and provocative slate of premium dramas”. Recent hits include Gangs of London, The Baby, The Midwich Cuckoos and The Lazarus Project (pictured).
