Latest in Piers Wenger

James Nesbitt has been cast as the lead in new BBC One detective drama Bloodlands, which represents the first commission for Bodyguard creator Jed Mercurio’s production company. Dubbed an “Irish noir,” Nesbitt will play Northern Irish police detective Tom Brannick who connects a suicide note with an infamous cold case…

The BBC has ordered four new dramas for BBC One, including surveillance thriller The Capture with David Heyman’s Heyday Television and NBC Universal International Studios, and Marnie Dickens series Gold Digger. London-set spy thriller The Capture, the brainchild of writer-director Ben Chanan (Cyberbully), will begin…

Ten months into his new job, Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, unveiled his vision for the department on Thursday night in London, with an ambitious slate to boot including a three-part series of Little Women with Playground and PBS’ Masterpiece, a Stephen Frears-directed drama A Very English Scandal and an…

Just as word emerged that Channel 4 Head of Drama Piers Wenger is defecting to the BBC to become its new drama chief, Channel 4 announced that Beth Willis will replace him at the broadcaster. Willis has been Deputy Head of Drama at C4 since 2012, working in concert with Wenger. As she is due for maternity leave this…

Piers Wenger has been appointed Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning, aka the biggest job in UK drama, in a move that will see him leave his position as Head of Drama at Channel 4. The hire comes amid a series of revolving doors at the British broadcasters. Wenger is replacing former BBC drama chief Polly Hill who…