See-Saw Films was already known as a purveyor of top-end cinema (The King’s Speech, Power of the Dog) when Helen Gregory, named one of THR‘s most powerful women in international TV, arrived in 2021 to help boost its nascent TV division.
Series including Apple Plus’ Slow Horses and Netflix’s Heartstopper hit the sweet spot between critical and popular acclaim. It’s a target Gregory is aiming for with the upcoming Sweetpea, a dark comedy adapted from the Kirstie Swain bestseller and featuring Yellowjackets and Fallout star Ella Purnell as a nice girl who gets pushed too far. Produced with Sky in the U.K. the series will go out simultaneously on Starz stateside. Gregory’s biggest deal for 2024 was signing up with Michael Ende Productions to reboot the fantasy classic The Neverending Story as a series of live-action feature films.
Young women entering the still very male-dominated TV industry, says Gregory, should “speak up for themselves and their achievements without apologizing” and understand that “supporting each other is a strength not a weakness.” While she sees progress in efforts to improve equality and diversity in the international TV business, “more long-term thinking [is] needed to complement positive short-term decision making.”
Ella Purnell in Sweetpea
Courtesy of Starz
What was your first job in the business?
Regional Station Assistant at BBC Newcastle, including floor managing live regional news.
What was the biggest professional challenge you faced this past year?
Having to react simultaneously to the rapidity of change in the industry with the frustrations of a slow process.
What do you see as your biggest achievement of the past year?
Confirming the partnership between See-Saw Films and Michael Ende Productions on The Neverending Story, whilst continuing to build our TV business, culminating in nine Emmy nominations and one win for Slow Horses.
What needs to be done to improve equality and diversity within the industry?
More long-term thinking is needed to complement positive short-term decision-making.
What is or has been the greatest challenge in being a woman in this (still very male-dominated) industry?
Protecting the space to say, “I don’t know,” when it’s the smartest answer.
What current industry trend do you hope to soon see the back of?
Doom-mongering.
What advice would you give young women just entering the industry?
To speak up for themselves and their achievements without apologizing. That supporting each other is a strength, not a weakness.
What show, currently on air, would you love to have made?
Colin From Accounts.
What do you watch for pleasure?
Colin From Accounts.
What do you do to unwind?
Run!
