Mark Reynolds

World Screen Weekly, October 12, 2006

Head of Factual

Granada International

With nearly 20 years of experience in factual programming, Mark Reynolds, the head of factual at Granada International, has a good sense of what kind of documentaries, docudramas and factual series broadcasters are looking for. “In these genres the trends are always quite cyclical,” he says. “Seven or eight years ago, wildlife had a big boom, then history was quite strong, and now it’s science.”

Reynolds spent nearly 15 years at BBC Worldwide, where he was responsible for co-productions and securing financing for factual programs. He also oversaw the BBC’s joint venture with Discovery Communications. He joined Granada four years ago. Besides brokering co-production deals he also acquires programming from independents. “I set the strategy for what we are going to acquire and, in line with the feedback from our sales team, I make sure that what we buy complements our in-house productions and our catalogue.”

Reynolds oversees about 200 hours of programming a year. “That seems a lot, but it includes factual entertainment, and some of those series are 20 hours long.”

He notes that the lines between different subject matter are blurring. “In the factual genre you can’t compartmentalize programs as much as you used to. Broadcasters want a mix of science and history, and even in current affairs there is a blending of genres.”

The most significant development in the factual world is that the market has become very crowded. “There is a huge number of hours produced every year, and therefore it’s necessary to be imaginative and find the right angle for every film,” explains Reynolds.

“In general, broad factual entertainment programs seem to work best in English-speaking countries and in territories like Scandinavia,” he continues, “while France, the U.K., Germany and Italy still want very strong science, wildlife and history hours. But the key to these programs is, Will this film tell something new? Has it got unique access [to people or places]? Has it got a new visual style?” And because viewers have gotten used to documentaries and docudramas with very high production values, as Reynolds explains, “The story is everything, particularly in wildlife. It was very easy to amaze the audience with fantastic images and wildlife behavior they hadn’t seen. But they’re not amazed by that anymore. What they want is a gripping story, and there’s got to be mystery that will unfold through the hour.”

To satisfy this more demanding factual audience, Granada has I Shouldn’t Be Alive, a gripping and inspirational ten-part series which tells incredible true stories of survival; and Serengeti, a two-part documentary that follows the most spectacular migration on earth, in the Serengeti in Africa.