Fremantle names global drama president following Sarah Doole’s departure

Christian Vesper

Fremantle has promoted Christian Vesper to become its president of global drama, following the exit last month of Sarah Doole.

Vesper will be based in London and will take on day-to-day management of the global drama team, reporting into Andrea Scrosati, group COO, who has overall responsibility for Fremantle’s scripted activities across drama and film.

Vesper was most recently EVP and creative director of global drama at Fremantle, which he joined in 2016. Before that, he was drama chief at Sundance TV where he oversaw productions including Top Of The Lake, The Honourable Woman and Deutschland 83.

He has also held roles at HBO, iFilm, October Films and USA Film, and will now work with Fremantle-owned producers around the world – including The Apartment, Wildside, Fremantle North America and Euston Films – to support projects.

The promotion comes two months after former global drama chief Doole left Fremantle, subsequently landing at StudioCanal following Nicola Shindler’s move to ITV Studios.

Scrosati said: “Christian has helped Fremantle put together a collection of some of the best creatives and producers in the global high-end TV drama space. His passion for challenging the status quo of storytelling, with his unique creative instincts and ability to forge deep relationships makes him an exceptionally gifted executive. Jen and I are very grateful to have him on our team.”

Vesper added: “As our global teams move into greater alignment, it’s important for us to present a clear Fremantle drama vision to attract the best ideas and talent from around the world and stand-out in this dynamic market.”