Viacom International Studios, (VIS), has signed a quartet of first-look contracts with British talent in an effort to offer more opportunities for diverse creators.
Morgan Bailey, Bec Boey, Chris Bush, Iman Qureshi, and Kaamil Shah will spend the next two years pitching five ideas to ViacomCBS’ in-house producer and VIS has committed to commissioning at least two projects to the treatment stage of development, and taking one of those to script.
Kate Laffey, Vice President at VIS UK and Claire Sowerby Sheppard, Head of Development at VIS UK are responsible for the program. It will also be repeated in the near-term with another set under-represented writers.
The program comes off the back of the launch of VIS’ Social Impact division, which is dedicated to the development of social-impact-driven content.
VIS stated that the quintet was chosen “based on their proven scriptwriting talent, their variety of interests and writing styles, and potential to collaborate on distinctive development projects intended for [new streamer] Paramount+.”
Laffey stated that: “Since inception, VIS has been on the front lines of finding and partnering with diverse creatives from around the world. This initiative will ensure we continue to infuse diversity, equity, and inclusion into every aspect of our work, particularly our U.K. originated content.”