EXCLUSIVE: Initial Co-Managing Director Cat Lynch is joining Amazon Studios in the UK.
She is set to take on the post of UK Unscripted Executive, working closely with Head of UK Originals Dan Grabiner and UK Unscripted chief Fozia Khan on a range of factual entertainment, entertainment and documentary titles.
Lynch, who has been with Banijay UK-owned Initial for a decade, will report into Grabiner when she begins the new role in early 2023. We’ve heard the switch has been on the cards for a while now, but has only just been made official.
It’s the first major change for Amazon Studios in the UK since the London-based Georgia Brown left her post as Head of European Originals at the end of August. News of the appointment closely follows the departure of Prime Video Germany Country Director Kaspar Pflüger, which we reported on Friday.
Lynch has been with unscripted entertainment specialist Initial since 2012, having begun her career at Endemol as a creative intern. At that point, she was named Head of Development, helping to create shows such as The Almost Impossible Game Show for ITV2 and long running ITV quiz Tennable. In 2018, she was named Co-Managing Director alongside Katy Manley.
Together, they have focused on reality programming, launching shows such as MTV’s The Royal World, Discovery+’s Beauty and the Geek and ITV Be’s The Singles’ Table, while also overseeing ITV’s annual charity football match Soccer Aid. Initial is also set to produce a rebooted Big Brother for ITV, with Natalie Znak the executive producer. Znak oversees Initial and Remarkable Entertainment following Banijay’s acquisition of her own producer, ZnakTV, in December last year.
Deadline understands Initial is preparing to hire a direct replacement for Lynch, with this person working alongside Manley, who remains Managing Director.