EXCLUSIVE: There’s arguably no producer who has undergone as much of a reinvention in the UK as Mike Benson. Originally the founder and Managing Director of Chalkboard Television, the maker of docs such as Troll Hunters and unscripted entertainment titles like Celebrity Fat Fighters, he made a major pivot into scripted TV in 2018 with Cold Call, the first drama commission at Paramount’s Channel 5 (now just 5) in four years that came after 5 content boss Ben Frow challenged producers to develop series at a price point of just £250,000 ($337,000) an episode.
That commission and the subsequent ratings success sparked a scripted revolution for both 5 and former BBC producer Benson, who went on to launch a sister production business to Chalkboard, named Clapperboard Studios, in 2020. It has since made more than 25 series and 120 hours of prime-time television, including Love Rat, The Holiday, The Cuckoo and The Game for Channel 5 and The Castaways, The Ex-Wife and The Serial Killer’s Wife for the network’s sister streamer, Paramount+.
Clapperboard, launched with the backing of Spain-based European producer network iZen, is now attracting attention from other networks, as they explore how Benson and Frow’s team at 5 tore up the drama rule book. Last week, we reported Clapperboard was making Hunting Alice Bell, a drama for Channel 4 from David Baddiel and Peter Bradshaw, and this morning we revealed the full lead cast. We understand several other developments are in place elsewhere and can also reveal Benson is working on an AI production tool and launching two new European bases, as it seeks to grow further.
However, Benson is at pains to stress something right up top of our interview: “We need to be able to diversify, but we are always going to be loyal to Paramount,” he says. “Many broadcasters are looking at what Paramount has done and how it can get the licenses with an enhanced acquisition – the model seems to be working.”
He’s not joking, either: This summer, 5 unveiled a line-up of new dramas that included three from Clapperboard, suspense thriller Number One Fan, detective mystery Cooper and Fry and Death in Benidorm, a co-production with Blackbox MultiMedia. Additionally, returning to Paramount are The Teacher anthology series, The Good Ship Murder and The Madame Blanc Mysteries.
A further six shows are in development at various channels and streamers. “Four or five years ago, we were the anomaly, but that changed over the past few in terms of meetings and development, and that’s important to us as a business,” says Benson. “It feels like the industry has shifted towards us and that has afforded us opportunities.”
Risk-reward
The exec admits there is risk attached to the Clapperboard model, with plenty of financial collateral needed throughout productions, even if shows are at lower costs overall. However, as Clapperboard has essentially followed a “spread-betting” approach with a wide and diverse slate of shows in production at the same time, financing is achievable as one props up another should it run into trouble. We understand the company will turn over an estimated £30M ($40.5M) for 2025, with Clapperboard sitting next to unscripted label Chalkboard and docs and factual specialist Storyboard Studios.
Clapperboard’s risk-reward approach has also meant Benson and his team spending much time on the road assessing different tax break systems and other sources of soft money. Productions have taken place in Malta, Spain and other European territories, and Benson wishes that the UK tax break system was more accessible and that he could film at home more – a subject he has returned to many times amid the tough market for British TV makers. Benson estimates Clapperboard has “done £100M in revenue in other industries” abroad over its lifecycle, and “all of that could have gone through the UK.”
Hunting Alice Bell, which comes from comedian David Baddiel and has a cast including the likes of Alexandra Roach and Simon Pegg, has been shooting in County Wicklow, Ireland. Its impressive acting line-up has been possible thanks to “shooting people out quickly where we can” and the “strength of the script.” Baddiel’s personal relationship with Pegg helped get the Mission Impossible star onboard.
Benson also praises distributors such as Hunting Alice Bell seller Sphere Abacus, as they often “carry much of the risk” and says the industry remains wilfully ignorant of what sales houses think – with few industry events and conferences platforming them when it comes to financing discussions. “That should be acknowledged more,” he says.
The next step is seeing how the model Clapperboard has developed for lower-cost shows could be applied to higher budgets. Development work with the likes of Michael Thorn’s team at Fox has been continuing and the likes of Baby Doll have a higher production fee than some others. “Can we bring the principles of lower cost to the higher tier?” says Benson. “Could we make a £10M show for £4M-5M? That opens up different kinds of stories for us, and hopefully we’ve got invested in good concepts and IP. We have created a value-for-money brand, but I don’t want that to be limiting for us.”
AI production tool
For now, Clapperboard is working within the existing framework and has been working with its Studio TF1-owned parent, iZen, to develop an AI-assisted tool production systems that Benson says is “aimed not at replacing jobs but increasing efficiencies and therefore reducing costs.” The system works by allowing all HoDs on a production access to a central system that updates them on decision making and up-to-the-minute information on shoots.
“It’s effectively a production brain,” says Benson, “and it’s all about producing more for less. Hopefully, it’s uncontroversial. It is not replacing staff, and if we can condense the shoot schedule further, we can put more money into casting.”
Work has begun to develop a system that “brings the writer closer to the production,” allowing them to take a virtual tour the types of locations available for their stories at the agreed price point.
Further developments include launching a full-services operation in the Basque Country in Spain that will allow other companies to use Clapperboard’s infrastructure for their own productions, and a base in Ireland is being assessed, although this is at an earlier point in the process.
As for the future of production companies and how they get ideas into production, Benson takes a pragmatic view. “The most exciting companies are the ones who are just doing it,” he says. “They’re essentially self-commissioning. There is danger within that, as there is value in the curation of commissioning, but being bale to find a way to get your shows to screen is better. Everyone has a show they’ve been sitting on for years that they’d love to get made.”
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