BBC Chief Content Officer Kate Phillips has appointed Chris Sussman as Director of Comedy. He was previously Director of Scripted Series at Netflix UK and was Head of Comedy at BBC Studios.
At Netflix he helped build the UK scripted slate, working across series such as Man Versus Bee, Baby Reindeer, Stay Close, Bodies and Black Mirror.
As Head of Comedy at BBC Studios, he oversaw both the TV and radio comedy slates, including series such as This Country, Inside No 9, W1A, Famalam, Upstart Crow, Ladhood, Two Doors Down, Vic & Bob’s Big Night Out and Mrs Brown’s Boys. He was also responsible for winning BBC Studios’ first commissions with Apple (Trying) and Amazon (Good Omens).
During his previous time in the BBC Comedy Commissioning team, he was responsible for series such as Fleabag, Mum, Bad Education, Cuckoo, Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe, Rev, Ambassadors and Him & Her.
More recently, Chris has been working as an executive producer on the International Emmy award-winning BBC comedy Ludwig.
Chris will report directly to Kate Phillips and lead the BBC comedy commissioning team. He will be responsible for overseeing a wide range of comedies including hit shows Ludwig, Amandaland, Small Prophets, Ann Droid, Here We Go and Black Ops. New series coming up include Bill’s Included, Reluctant Vampire, Better Later, Hopley Hall, Push and Opening Up.
Kate Phillips, Chief Content Officer, says: “After a highly competitive interview process I’m delighted that Chris will be taking up the role of the BBC’s Director of Comedy. With a wealth of experience across multiple indies and broadcasters he has the smarts and skills needed to lead us into a very funny future.”
Chris Sussman says: “What a dream job! I’ve loved BBC comedy since I was a young boy listening to tapes of Hancock and The Goons, and the thought of trying to make more classics for a new generation to fall in love with is a daunting but irresistible one. I’ll be joining a brilliant team who are already producing some fantastic series, so I'm looking forward to carrying on where Jon left off and defining British comedy in the coming years.”
Chris starts his new role next month and Emma Lawson will continue as Acting Director in the interim.
