EXCLUSIVE: Welcome to Earth with Will Smith producer Nutopia is pushing further into the returning formats game with the hire of a new Creative Director in the UK.
Tom Watt-Smith joins Nutopia from Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb producer Lion TV just a few months after he was promoted to become Lion’s Creative Director of Premium and Specialist Factual.
At Nutopia, he will take on the newly-created Creative Director of Formats and Special Projects post to expand the transatlantic outfit’s documentary and returning formats slate, based out of London. He will “support Nutopia’s continued growth into new markets, price points, and territories,” according to the indie.
Nutopia’s shows include Nat Geo’s Welcome to Earth with Will Smith, Netflix’s African Queens and Sky History’s Royal Mob. Jane Root’s outfit also has a deal in place with former Travel Channel boss Pat Younge to develop a diverse and inclusive slate.
During his three-and-a-half-year Lion stint, Watt-Smith developed and produced a slate of shows including the BBC’s Stolen: Catching the Art Thieves, PBS/ARTE’s Saving Venice and an upcoming Liz Bonnin Caribbean show. He was promoted to his current role in January following a restructure with All3Media stablemate Lime Pictures. Past employers include Raw and Studio Lambert.
Watt-Smith will report into Nutopia’s recently-promoted Chief Creative Officer Simon Willgoss, who called him “one of the UK’s top creatives, who will lead our charge into new markets and genres.”
Watt-Smith said the opportunity was “impossible to turn down.”
“The scale and ambition of Nutopia’s projects is legendary and I feel honored to join in the next chapter of their story,” he added.