Naomi de Pear to Head New Comedy Label at Sister Pictures

LONDON: Sister Pictures has unveiled the creation of a new label, Hootenanny, headed by Naomi de Pear.

De Pear joined Sister Pictures from Kudos, where she reunited with former collaborators Jane Featherstone and Dan Isaacs, Sister Pictures’ founder and COO respectively. As an executive producer for Sister, de Pear will work with Featherstone on a number of new drama projects. Alongside this role, de Pear will launch Hootenanny, her own label dedicated initially to authored comedy series.

Hootenanny launches with two commissions for Channel 4. The first, The Bisexual, is created by Desiree Akhavan, who will also star in the series. The second sees a recommission for Flowers, starring Olivia Colman and Julian Barratt. Both The Bisexual and Flowers were developed by de Pear, who will executive produce both series. Flowers is a co-production with Kudos.

Featherstone commented: “It’s not every day you find a creative relationship that is stimulating, improving and hugely fun, but with the brilliant Naomi de Pear I have just that. It’s not an accident she is our first senior creative hire at Sister—a brave, strong and passionate producer, Naomi’s taste in writers and talent is peerless. Her label, Hootenanny, will add a new dimension with a focus on authored comedy, and what a way to start with this glorious series from Desiree Akhavan.”

De Pear said: “I’m in the perfect home to be making the sort of television I love and can feel proud of, in the most creative ways. Sister Pictures is a raw and passionate, compact outfit with massive ambitions. Jane has always been an empowering and inspiring influence and working alongside her as an executive producer on such an ambitious slate of genuinely original shows is exhilarating. Hootenanny will be a home for honest, naughty and unusual pieces. Comedy is an important form, not an entertaining distraction and I believe in its ability to anarchically play with expectation. Initially my focus will be to work closely with writers on authored comedies that break the mold and have something to say, like Will’s bold and poetic Flowers and Desiree’s sophisticated and authentic The Bisexual.”