Sky Studios Promotes Gabriel Silver to Drama Commissioning Director Role

Sky Studios has named Gabriel Silver its director of commissioning for drama, a new role created following the departure of drama director Cameron Roach earlier this year.

Silver is currently senior commissioning editor and executive producer for Sky Studios, the production arm of Comcast’s European pay TV giant Sky, and oversaw such hit dramas as Chernobyl and Gangs of London. He takes up his new role with immediate effect, reporting to chief content officer Jane Millichip.

Following the exit of Roach, who had led Sky drama since 2018, Sky Studios decided to reset the structure of its U.K. scripted team to cope with the increase of both in-house productions and indie commissions, splitting the role in two.

Silver — who is still exec producing upcoming dramas Extinction and HBO co-production The Baby — will be tasked with growing the slate of indie-commissioned drama projects, with a particularly focus on Sky U.K., and will work closely with Sky’s managing director of content Zai Bennett.

“Sky Drama has never been more bold or ambitious than it is today,” said Silver. “Over the next 18 months, we’re looking towards a fantastic slate of shows, including at least a dozen new original series or miniseries, all of which aim to push the parameters of what’s considered a Sky drama — to be truly distinctive whilst retaining a core sense of entertainment.”

Silver’s team includes commissioning editors Manpreet Dosanjh, Paul Gilbert and Liz Lewin. In addition to increasing its investment with indies, Sky Studios also plans to move further into in-house production following the success of Sky original The Third Day, the first in-house production from Sky Studios.