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Ben Stephenson Talks “Trying To Twist The Mainstream” With Drama Indie Poison Pen
Ben Stephenson has talked indie Poison Pen & new ITV shows 'The Dark' & 'Adultery', along with his jobs at BBC drama and Bad Robot.
EXCLUSIVE: In his first interview since launching drama indie Poison Pen, Ben Stephenson has set out plans to “use crime as a fulcrum to tell big characterful stories” and take a “different approach” to adapting novels. Stephenson, who has held top exec roles on both sides of the pond as BBC drama chief and head of TV for J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, launched ITV Studios-backed Poison Pen in 2023 and the move is beginning to bear fruit. One of his earliest hires was head of IP acquisitions Fern McCauley from Hachette – one of a number of buzzy Poison Pen signings along with ex-Sky drama exec Preethi Mavahalli and Left Bank’s Luke Woellhaf – and Stephenson said he wants the indie to “take a slightly different approach to books.”
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