BBC Studios’ Lookout Point Sets New Leadership With Laura Lankester, Will Johnston

BBC Studios-owned indie Lookout Point, the shingle behind hit dramas such as “Gentleman Jack,” has appointed longtime collaborators and in-house executive producers Laura Lankester and Will Johnston as joint CEOs.

“They will now drive the creative leadership of the company in its next generation, with current CEO Faith Penhale set to step down at the end of this year,” the BBC and Lookout Point said in a statement.

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Penhale, who announced her departure earlier this year, will join Pathe U.K. as managing director from March.

In their new roles Lankester and Johnston will have oversight of Looking Point’s upcoming Disney+ adventure series “The Ballad of Renegade Nell,” which is in production, and the company’s recently completed first series of South African crime thriller “Devil’s Peak,” co-produced with Expanded Media, as well as the third and final installment of the hit BBC One drama “Happy Valley,” co-produced with AMC.

Lookout Point have a minority stake in comedy outfit Boffola Pictures, with which they are co-producers on forthcoming BBC-commissioned “Undoing Martin Parker” and the first series of “Am I Being Unreasonable?” which the BBC recently renewed.

Lankester is currently Lookout Point executive producer on “Devil’s Peak,” while Johnston is EP on “Happy Valley 3” with Penhale, and “The Ballad of Renegade Nell” with Penhale and Louise Mutter.

With Penhale they served as EPs on event miniseries adaptation of “A Suitable Boy” for BBC One/Netflix on location in India.

Said Mark Linsey, managing director of scripted, BBC Studios: “Laura and Will are both fantastic creatives, with a strong track record in delivering ambitious, talked-about TV that grips audiences all over the world.  They embody the DNA of Lookout Point while also bringing a renewed dynamism, fresh thinking and complementary perspectives to their joint-CEO roles.”

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