Argonon has announced Kristian Smith as Chief Creative Officer for Leopard, the new scripted division of the Argonon Group. Leopard is a producer of contemporary British television and feature-length drama, part of Argonon.
For the last six years, Smith has been Commissioning Editor for BBC Comedy, and brings over 16 years of experience in commissioning, developing and producing scripted comedy and drama.
His commissions include: the double BAFTA-winning Detectorists; the return of Catherine Tate’s Nan; P.G Wodehouse’s Blandings; Uncle; and a number of Royle Family Christmas Specials. He also commissioned the UK’s first transgender sitcom, Boy Meets Girl.
In his newly-created role, Smith will head up the team at Leopard, who produce the RTS award-winning CBBC series, Eve, along with TV drama and feature co-productions.
James Burstall, CEO of Argonon, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Kristian to Argonon. His lateral thinking about drama, comedy, and talent, combined with his extensive experience and passion for creativity, will take our talented team to the next level. We are excited about more diverse quality drama from Leopard for all the platforms.”
Smith began his career as a script editor in both drama and comedy, working on the likes of Teachers and Eastenders. During Smith’s role as Emmerdale producer, the series won its first Royal Television Society Award, for Best Soap, after which Smith moved to BBC Comedy where he developed and produced new titles from sketch shows to sitcom.
Smith said: “Argonon is a truly impressive, forward-thinking company, full of people making great television in the UK and internationally. I’m thrilled to be joining them to look after Leopard. I can’t wait to get stuck in to develop exciting new comedy and drama.”
Smith starts his new role in February.
For more information please contact Plank PR on 020 8995 3936 or lou@plankpr.com / cecile@plankpr.com
Note to Editors:
About Leopard
Leopard, part of the Argonon Group, produces contemporary British drama that is testament to a passion for distinctive voices across a vibrant range of projects, from signature piece single films to returning series. Productions include: Eve, the critically-acclaimed and RTS award-winning CBBC children’s drama; Leopard first co-produced feature The Holding; award-winning single films An Englishman In New York and Mysterious Creatures (ITV) and two series of crime drama Missing for BBC One.
About Argonon
Argonon is the award-winning super-indie production group, formed by Leopard Films CEO James Burstall in 2011. This unique group of companies delivers world class entertainment with creative and diverse talent both on and off screen. Leopard Drama, Leopard Films, Leopard USA and Remedy Productions were the first to join the group; Remedy Canada launched in June 2012 backed by Argonon; Transparent Television and joint venture BriteSpark Films joined in 2013; followed by Windfall Films and Blacklisted Films. Argonon has been formed to bring together world class talent across the media landscape, with headquarters in London and offices in New York and Vancouver. Content from the group includes Emmy and BAFTA award-winning factual, factual entertainment, entertainment, drama, arts, comedy and children’s programming.
www.argonon.com