EXCLUSIVE: British drama house New Pictures has expanded its management team.
The Catherine the Great and Des maker has appointed Lisa Selway as Chief Operating Officer. Emily Russell is upped to Director of Production and Executive Producer and Wendy Pearce becomes Chief Financial Officer.
Selway has worked in the industry for 15 years, working on behalf of film and TV producers, financiers, distributors, talent, and global streamers and was most recently an independent business affairs specialist at Grey Seal Media.
She’ll will work next to New Pictures co-founders Willow Grylls and Elaine Pyke, along with Russell and Pearce, to grow the company and build out its scripted operation.
Russell, who has been with the company since 2020 after joining from Mammoth Screen, has been tasked with overseeing all production. Her credits include BBC and Netflix drama The Serpent and ITV’s Endeavour.
Pearce rises from Finance Director to Chief Financial Officer as the All3Media-owned company moves into what it’s calling “the next phase.”
She’ll be tasked with managing financial risks, planning and compliance. Before New Pictures, she was Head of Finance within the All3 group Head for Finance at North One Sport and Company Pictures. She’s also held roles at Endemol and Pearson Television (now Fremantle).
New Pictures productions include ITV and Sundance serial killer draa Des starring David Tennant, Sky and HBO period piece Catherine the Great starring Helen Mirren, BBC and Starz crime drama The Missing, Netflix sci-fi series The Innocents, Sky Max’s Cobra, Starz’s The Spanish Princess, ITV and HBO Max true-crime series White House Farm and ITV and Channel 5, Acorn TV and AMC procedural Dalgleish. Upcoming shows include No Escape for Paramount+, The Long Shadow and Candice Carty-Williams’ Champion for BBC One and Netflix in association with Balloon Entertainment.
“I am delighted to be joining New Pictures’ extremely talented team, especially during such an exciting period,” said Selway. “I am looking forward to further strengthening New Pictures’ relationships and working with our partners who continually challenge us to innovate and to always support talent.”
Grylls said: “New Pictures is a home for entertaining drama from bold and distinctive voices. I am thrilled that Lisa Selway will be bringing her wide experience, deep knowledge and exceptional relationships to constantly push us to do that better. Wendy Pearce and Emily Russell are an integral part of New Pictures success. After an incredibly busy year with five shows in production, these changes formalize our evolution and push us forward in this next stage of our growth.”