{"id":620419,"date":"2026-09-10T13:58:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T13:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/620419\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T13:58:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T13:58:10","slug":"channel-4-to-combine-drama-comedy-teams-under-historic-jobs-cull","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/620419\/","title":{"rendered":"Channel 4 To Combine Drama & Comedy Teams Under Historic Jobs Cull"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEXCLUSIVE: Channel 4<\/a> will merge its drama and comedy commissioning units as the UK network seeks to cut its workforce by more than a quarter over the coming months.<\/p>\n

\n\tChannel 4 will create a new scripted commissioning team, which sources said would more closely resemble the set-up at major U.S. networks and streamers. Film4 will not be part of the changes.<\/p>\n

\n\tChannel 4 is putting around half of commissioning roles at risk, though it is not clear exactly how jobs will be impacted in the drama and comedy teams.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe network will close a total of 340 jobs before the end of the year, which is equivalent to 28% of its workforce. It is the biggest round of layoffs in Channel 4\u2019s 43-year history.<\/p>\n

\n\tChannel 4\u2019s new scripted unit will be responsible for shows including A Woman of Substance<\/a>, Big Boys, and Derry Girls<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tDrama commissioning is led by interim chief Gwawr Lloyd following Ollie Madden\u2019s departure to Netflix last year. Channel 4 comedy is overseen by Charlie Perkins.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe change mirrors work in unscripted<\/a>, where Channel 4 is planning to bring together three units: Documentaries and factual entertainment; reality and entertainment; and specialist factual.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt makes sense after being resisted for years,\u201d said a respected drama producer. A second producer added that there is increasing cross-pollination between the genres, with writers like Succession and Peep Show creator Jesse Armstrong occupying a space somewhere between comedy and drama.<\/p>\n

\n\tChannel 4 declined to comment beyond Wednesday\u2019s statement about the layoffs. CEO Priya Dogra said the cuts were aimed at putting more money on screen by reducing management layers, removing duplication and simplifying decision-making.<\/p>\n

\n\tA person familiar with the changes said they were communicated internally in a \u201cruthless\u201d way, with staff being told that if they received an email at a certain time, it would inform them that their job was at risk.<\/p>\n

\n\tInsiders are describing the jobs cull as a \u201cwatershed\u201d moment for Channel 4, as it grapples with unprecedented competition for viewers and pressure on advertising revenue.<\/p>\n

\n\tDogra said: \u201cThese decisions have not been taken lightly, but I strongly believe they are necessary to create a simpler, more focused and more sustainable Channel 4 that can invest a greater proportion of revenues into distinctive content, back British creativity and deliver impact for audiences long into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: Channel 4 will merge its drama and comedy commissioning units as the UK network seeks to cut…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":620420,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[169589,1795,17202,93,61,60,282],"class_list":["post-620419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-a-woman-of-substance","tag-channel-4","tag-derry-girls","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/620420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}