As SBS looks to ramp up its local content offering, it has promoted John Godfrey to the newly-created role of head of commissioning, a position that will see him oversee all commissioned content across both scripted and unscripted.
Replacing Godfrey as head of unscripted is the broadcaster’s current head of documentaries, Joseph Maxwell, expanding his remit to include entertainment, food commissions and online content, including Eurovision.
Godfrey, who joined SBS in 2008, has led its unscripted commissioning for the past six years, steering doc projects like Go Back to Where You Came From, First Contact and Filthy Rich and Homeless, as well as new factual formats like Mastermind, The Cook Up with Adam Liaw and Celebrity Letters and Numbers.
The executive has also helped to oversee initiatives and opportunities designed to support career pathways for screen practitioners from under-represented communities, and SBS’s approach to inclusion in the sector through its Commissioning Equity & Inclusion Guidelines introduced earlier this year.
Joseph Maxwell joined SBS in 2012, delivering projects like See What You Made Me Do, Who Do You Think You Are?, Addicted Australia, and most recently, The Australian Wars.
Within the documentary commissioning team, Bernadine Lim, who joined SBS early last year from Screen Australia, will become senior commissioning editor.
Julie Eckersley continues as head of SBS scripted, with the public broadcaster currently working on its largest ever local drama slate. It has three prime-time series set to premiere for the first time in 2023 in Kindling Pictures’ first project, Safe Home; Lingo Pictures’ anthology series Erotic Stories and Arcadia’s While the Men Are Away.
SBS director of television Kathryn Fink noted SBS is currently delivering its largest ever original Australian content line-up, with an “innovative and dynamic” development pipeline also in train.
“We’re bringing together our scripted and unscripted commissioning teams into one creative powerhouse, overseen by John Godfrey has head of commissioning, to support our plans for the year ahead, and ambition for the future,” she said.
“I’m delighted to have John taking on this important role at this pivotal and exciting time for SBS, and to also have Joseph, who has been key in cementing SBS’s position as a leader in compelling and impactful documentaries, extend his remit to oversee all of SBS’s unscripted offering.
“Our content plans for the year ahead are unlike anything else on offer, underpinned by our unique purpose at SBS, and delivering more for Australians. We want to continue raising the bar, and I look forward to working closely with John, Joseph and the wider commissioning team to continue pushing boundaries.”
The appointments come into effect from today.