Left Bank Co-Founder Marigo Kehoe Departs ‘The Crown’ Producer As It Resets Sony Deal

EXCLUSIVE: Marigo Kehoe, Co-Founder of The Crown producer Left Bank has left the company as it is on the verge of re-upping its deal with Sony Pictures Television.

Kehoe established the drama firm in 2007 with Andy Harries, who she worked with Granada overseeing shows such as The Street and The Deal as well as the return of Cracker and Prime Suspect. She was Managing Director of Left Bank, which also produces series such as Cinemax and Sky’s Strike Back and Starz’ Outlander.

She was widely considered instrumental, alongside Harries, in Left Bank’s sale to Sony Pictures in 2012. However, I hear that following the completion of its earn-out deal with the Hollywood studio, it is on of the brink of signing a new deal with Sony and Kehoe’s decision to leave means that will not be part of this new phase and is exploring new opportunities in the UK and U.S.

Starting her career as a freelancer producer, before working for Channel 4 and Tiger Aspect, she oversaw feature films Pierrepoint and The Queen. Her recent credits include exec producing Philip K. Dicks’ Electric Dreams, the Channel 4/Amazon co-production, Outlander and BBC drama The Replacement.

As it moves into its next stage, Left Bank is gearing up for production of seasons three and four of Netflix’s The Crown. The royal drama will start shooting in July with a timeline beginning in 1963 featuring Olivia Colman as The Queen. Earlier this week, Harries and The Crown exec producer Suzanne Mackie revealed that Claire Foy, who played The Queen in seasons one and two, was paid less than her co-star Matt Smith, who played Prince Phillip. In a panel session at the INTV conference in Jerusalem, moderated by Deadline, Mackie added that “going forward, it’s really important for the Queen to be paid more.”

During the session, which made global headlines, Harries also confirmed the shows budget was around £5M-£5.5M (US$7M-$7.7M) an hour. “This is expensive television, but I’d argue it is not television as people know it. It’s something between TV and feature films.