Sky Studios, Sky’s original programming arm across Europe, announced the appointment of Meghan Lyvers to the role of Director of Original Drama, UK & Ireland, as the Studio targets a significant increase in the investment and scale of Sky Original dramas.
In this newly created role, Lyvers will oversee an increasingly diverse slate of premium Sky Original dramas for Sky’s customers in the UK and Ireland, and joins Sky Studios at a time when it is deepening its investment in UK, European and global projects of scale including “Gangs of London,” “M: Son of the Century” and the recently announced “The Tattooist of Auschwitz.”
Currently Senior Vice President and Head of International Co-Productions and Development at CBS Studios, Lyvers brings a strong track-record in developing, packaging, and shepherding a wide-range of premium, talked-about content such as “Your Honour” (Showtime) and “Unbelievable” (Netflix) as well as deep filmmaker, creator, playwright, and partner relationships around the world.
In her current role, Lyvers established the strategic international business vision for CBS Studios, identifying and developing premium content outside of the United States, and has worked with a range of free-to-air, SVOD and pay TV channels and platforms across the globe. Current projects include “Oderbruch” for ARD in Germany, as well as “Munich Games” for Sky Studios.
Prior to CBS Studios, Lyvers was a producer at Management 360, establishing their television division, and began her career at Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal’s Tribeca Productions with projects such as “About a Boy” and the “Meet The Parents” franchise.
Expected to join Sky Studios in late summer, Lyvers will have strategic oversight over all drama projects commissioned and produced for Sky UK’s customers with a view to creating shows with global impact and appeal. She will relocate from Amsterdam to London, reporting to Sky Studios CEO, Cécile Frot-Coutaz, and work closely with the wider original content teams at Sky UK, Deutschland and Italia.
Lyvers team will include Gabriel Silver, who was upped to Director of Drama Commissioning last year and continues to lead on commissioned Sky Original drama projects such as the upcoming “The Lazarus Project” and “The Baby,” and Preethi Mavahalli, who joined the Studio earlier this year as Creative Director and continues to drive forward the ambition in in-house development and production, building on the success of “The Rising,” the first in-house project from the UK.
“Sky is a company I have long admired, both as a viewer of their original content but also as a long-term creative partner. Their renewed ambition to create even more prestige, world-class and unmissable programming through Sky Studios, working in partnership with the best storytellers in the UK, Europe and beyond, is an opportunity I could not pass up,” said Meghan Lyvers, Director of Original Drama, UK&I at Sky Studios.
“Meghan is a passionate creative executive with a strong track record in developing premium and distinctive drama alongside a depth of experience and relationships across the United States and Europe. As we focus on delivering a broader slate of signature content to our 23 million customers, we are excited to welcome Meghan to help us achieve our ambition,” commented Cécile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios.