Interview with

nicola shindler

rama producer Nicola Shindler OBE launched Quay Street Productions last year. She earned her first full producer credit on Jimmy McGovern’s Hillsborough in 1996, before setting up Manchester-based Red Production in 1998 aged just 29. She quickly found huge success with Russell T Davies’ cult hit Queer as Folk and then Paul Abbott’s Clocking Off. Since then she has been behind distinctive dramas such as Last Tango in Halifax, Happy Valley, Years and Years and Harlan Coben’s The Stranger. This year she has exec produced It’s A Sin, Ridley Road, the upcoming Stay Close for Netflix and No Return for ITV through Red. She sold Red to Studiocanal in 2013, and announced her departure last year to set up Quay Street within ITV Studios.

MakERS

Tell us about Stay Close – why have you produced this next out of Harlan’s books?

nicOla SHinDlER

All of Harlan’s books are brilliant, but this had always stayed with me. I love the story of the central character Megan, who's played by Cush Jumbo, a seemingly complete soccer mom and suburban woman who has got an extraordinary history which invariably is going to –not in straightforward ways –come back to haunt her. When Netflix asked us to do another one after The Stranger, we all agreed that this would be a great story to tell.

MakERS

When you make something for Netflix, is there a different tone you aim for compared to a traditional broadcaster?

nicOla SHinDlER

Not really. In the end you need to make a good story with good characters who people believe in. That's universal across any channel you're working for. With Netflix we've got a licence to go a little bit more heightened. Because there's so much American content on there we can just be a little bit glossier. It can also be a little bit more pushed, whether that’s the violence, the love story or the humour. But broadcasters are asking for something not dissimilar. Everyone's aware they've got to attract an audience and they've got to push boundaries.

MakERS

How did Covid affect the shoot?

nicOla SHinDlER

It's been very difficult. We started in February, midway through the third lockdown. We had our first read through in individual plastic bubbles round a table. At the time, it felt like the only way to protect everyone. But it felt really important that we were all in a room, not on zoom to interact with each other.

MakERS

Why did you leave Red, and what are your plans for Quay Street?

nicOla SHinDlER

It was time. I'd been there for 20 years. I'd worked through my contract with Studiocanal and I had an exciting new opportunity. There were different things I wanted to do in a different way, so it just felt like the right moment to go.

MakERS

Will Quay Street have a different focus, or will it build on what you have done?

nicOla SHinDlER

Definitely building on what I have done. I loved what I did at Red, so there's no need to leave behind what I was doing. I have a very supportive new partnership with ITV Studios that enables me to work with a lot of people, which is brilliant. The work that I want to do is similar to the work I'm doing at Red, which I would say is challenging but very entertaining, always a bit provocative,always quite funny - things that grab an audience and make people sit up and take notice.

MakERS

What is the drama market like right now?

nicOla SHinDlER

It’s a very exciting time and a really scary time. It's scary because the impact of Covid costs is still rolling through the industry. There will inevitably be less commissions because people have to save money somehow. On the other hand, such rich material is coming through drama production companies. Every [commissioner] you meet is saying, ‘What is the best you've got?’ No one's saying, What have you got that’s like 10 things we've done before?’ So we can genuinely go to writers and say, ‘What's your passion project, what do you really want to make?’ Taste amongst broadcasters or buyers was much more conservative. But that's just all changed.

MakERS

Are you finding it difficult to crew up at the moment?

nicOla SHinDlER

It's a very, very difficult time to produce. Finding the talent to make the shows is now one of the most difficult things that any production company is facing. Crews are just so overworked. And because rates have gone up so much on some shows, it's incredibly difficult to make anything for less than what used to be a high budget, but is now a really low budget figure. There's no low budget drama anymore.

MakERS

Has Brexit had an impact too?

nicOla SHinDlER

Yes. Even down to availability of wood, or anything you need to build sets. Any type of material building material is now twice as rare as it was the year before last. Brexit has had an impact on everything. We just filmed half of No Return in Spain, which was incredibly hard in terms of visas because we’re no longer in the EU. There have been no benefits at all to our industry.

MakERS

Looking back at this past year, you've had It’s A Sin, Ridley Road and now Staying Close and No Return coming up. How has it been for you?

nicOla SHinDlER

In practical terms, it has been the hardest year of my working life. But it's not just 2021, it's been incredibly difficult from March 2020. The unsung heroes of this entire 18 months have been the production teams. I've had two amazing heads of production at Red - the stress they've been through, and the situations they've had to deal with, has been extraordinary.