Wildseed Studios is adding a senior development executive to its creative team to push forward its growing slate of kids and family scripted entertainment. Elena Wurlitzer, who has over 15 years of TV development and production experience at companies including Disney, CBeebies, Super RTL and DHX Media, is joining Wildseed to help drive its development slate.
Having already produced projects for Disney, BBC, Alibaba (China) and Fullscreen, Wildseed is currently experiencing a period of rapid growth. It is delivering two new original series, The Last Bus for Netflix and Dodo for Sky, with multiple additional projects in development with Viskids, global streamers, as well as other territory-specific premium broadcast platforms.
“Wildseed has based its entire approach around finding and mentoring the most vivid and exciting new voices. With ever more platforms seeking unique creator-driven properties to attract highly selective audiences, the need for such talent has never been more pressing,” said Wildseed creative director Jesse Cleverly.
Cleverly further added, “Now that we have Elena here, we can take our hugely successful approach to the next level and cement Wildseed’s reputation as a premium supplier of creator-driven scripted content for kids, family and youth audiences.”
Having worked as a script writer, series developer and producer around the world, Wurlitzer made the shift to creative production on children’s digital platforms several years ago, where her work won plaudits including an International Emmy Award nomination.
“I’m delighted to be joining Wildseed at such an exciting time for the business, where I can continue my passion for working with the best creative voices in an environment where the discovery and nurturing of new talent is firmly centre stage,” explains Wurlitzer.
Wildseed is working with writer Paul Neafcy and directors Drew Casson, Nour Wazzi (The Last Bus), Joel Mackenzie, Tom Gran and Martin Woolley (for VIS Kids) and Jack Bennett (Dodo), who were all were involved with Wildseed’s early pilots and talent initiatives and are now all working on premium projects for global platforms.
Wildseed Studios managing director and co-founder Miles Bullough added, “We’re really excited to welcome Elena to the Wildseed team. Her skill set and experience are exactly what we need to maintain our reputation for excellence in creative development and to set about enabling another wave of new talent with whom we can make more great shows.”
