ITV Studios-Backed Poison Pen Names Fern McCauley Head of Development

Poison Pen Studios, Ben Stephenson’s ITV Studios-backed transatlantic scripted production banner, has named Fern McCauley head of development. She moves into the new role with immediate effect after serving as head of IP acquisitions at the label. 

“McCauley will now work with Stephenson across both the London and U.S.-based teams to drive the development of British and American dramas,” the company said.

McCauley’s appointment comes as the studio, which focuses on high-end premium drama across London and Los Angeles, prepares for the launch of two major new dramas on ITV later this year. Adultery is described as “a provocative love-story drama,” stars Dominic Cooper and Romola Garai and is written by Danny Brocklehurst. And serial killer thriller The Dark, starring Laura Donnelly, is based on GR Halliday’s debut novel, From The Shadows, and adapted by Matt Hartley. 

Prior to her role as the label’s head of IP acquisitions, “where Fern led the strategy for sourcing IP across publishing, podcasts and other media,” she was the first head of media development at Hachette, Poison Pen said. “In this role, she oversaw film and TV rights deals as well as IP development across publishing houses Hodder & Stoughton, Headline, John Murray Press, Orion Publishing Group, Little Brown, Quercus, and Headline Publishing Group. Before that, Fern was an associate literary agent at The Artists Partnership, working across an extensive list of book-to-film and screenwriting clients.”

Said Stephenson, a former controller, drama commissioning at the BBC: “We are now four years into Poison Pen, and with two shows under our belt, I’m excited to have Fern at the helm of development. We already have a bunch of development at FX, HBO, BBC, ITV, Netflix, Amazon and Sky, and I’m looking forward to working with Fern across our U.K. and U.S. slates to find more poppy, authored, page-turney series for both markets. Fern is an incredible and kind executive with impeccable taste, and I’m excited to start this new chapter.”

Fern McCauley: “Heading up IP Acquisitions for Poison Pen has been an amazing experience, especially seeing our first book-to-TV adaptation, The Dark, come to fruition so quickly. I’m delighted to take on the Head of Development role, helping guide Poison Pen into its next phase. Ben is a brilliant, supportive, and fun person to work for who shares my passion for finding bold stories for big audiences. We have an incredibly exciting slate of screenwriters and IP and I look forward to getting our projects onto TV screens internationally.”

Poison Pen Studios launched in 2022 and  is part of ITV Studios’ burgeoning stable of world-class producers across the world. These include Quay Street Productions, World Productions, Happy Prince, Mammoth Screen, Hartswood Films and Moonage Pictures.  Whilst the international drama stable includes: Cattleya, Plano a Plano, Lingo Pictures, Windlight Pictures, TM Studios,  Tetra Media Fiction, Colette Productions, Good Cop and L’Intruse. ITV Studios is Edinburgh TV Festival’s Production Group of the Year.