Murder Mountain indie Lightbox, co-Founded by Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn, has appointed Ben Samuel as Creative Director, Development.
He will oversee Lightbox’s development strategy and manage the development teams in London and Los Angeles. He will have a particular focus on growing the company’s slate of premium returning series, building on recent Netflix Original series commissions such as Diagnosis and Murder Mountain, as well as limited series and feature documentaries for US, UK and international networks and platforms.
Samuel joins from his role as Director of Development at Dragonfly where he was responsible for series and singles including Birth (BBC1), Second Opinion Surgery (BBC2), and the Grierson Award winning My Dad, the Peace Deal and Me (BBC1). He was previously Head of Development at SAS: Who Dares Wins indie Minnow Films, overseeing projects including American Justice (BBC2), Spies (Channel 4), and Valley Cops (BBC3).
Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn, co-Founders of Lightbox said: “Ben has a great track record of developing eye-catching ideas into premium returnable series, which is an increasing focus for us as we enter our next phase of growth. Working with VPs of Development in London and LA, Kate Griffiths and Rushie Perera respectively, he will bring a highly commercial and audience-focused approach to our development strategy as we continue to expand our output for networks and platforms worldwide.”
Ben Samuel said: “Lightbox has an outstanding pedigree and reputation for producing exceptional content. I’ve long admired the company from afar, and I’m really looking forward to working with the teams in both the UK and US.”
Lightbox’s recent output includes the Academy-Award nominated Black Sheep; Untouchable, the feature documentary on the Weinstein scandal which premiered at Sundance 2019 and will also air on BBC2 later this year; Whitney, the Grammy-nominated feature documentary directed by Academy Award winner Kevin Macdonald, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival; high-profile hit series Murder Mountain for Netflix; and true crime series ‘Til Death Do Us Part for Investigation Discovery. Upcoming series and films include Diagnosis for Netflix, Cajun Navy for Discovery Networks, Storm Over Brooklyn for HBO Documentary Films and projects for a range of US, UK and international broadcasters and platforms.
Staff Reporter
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