DARE Pictures Appoints Head of Scripted Development

DARE Pictures has appointed Cassandra Johnson-Bekoe to the newly created position of head of scripted development.

Johnson-Bekoe, who was previously senior development executive at Daniel Kaluuya’s 59%, will focus on developing DARE’s scripted slate and bring her own original slate of IP with the aim of taking them from pitch to commission.

Her previous production credits include Ted Lasso season two (Warner Bros./Apple TV+), Riches (Greenacre Films/ITV), Secret Invasion (Marvel) and The Chemistry of Death (Cuba Pictures/Paramount+).

Johnson-Bekoe also co-founded two collectives: Black Women in Scripted and The CoLab. Black Women in Scripted currently has over 300 members, consisting of a mix of established and award-winning writers, producers, executives and new industry talent. The CoLab, a diverse network for industry professionals, has over 250 members.

“This has been a year in the making and well worth the wait,” said Derren Lawford, founder and CEO of DARE Pictures. “We’ve been quietly acquiring life rights, optioning books and articles with a view to creating international and impactful dramas and films, so securing someone of Cassandra’s caliber and dynamism provides us with the perfect opportunity to accelerate our presence in scripted genres. She has a truly impressive network of contacts in the U.K., America and Africa and has already secured unique access to some incredibly powerful and distinctive stories for DARE that we’re really excited to see develop over the coming months. Suffice to say that we’re delighted to welcome her into the DARE Pictures family.”

Johnson-Bekoe added, “Derren has paved the way for many successful and innovative creatives in the industry. I am proud to say I am one of these creatives; and bestowing the opportunity of head of scripted development for DARE Pictures to me further establishes this legacy. I am truly looking forward to this next chapter. Through my entrepreneurship and true passion for scripted, we are going to create subversive and revolutionary content.”