CEETV's Yako Molhov sat down with producer and award-winning writer Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files, The Man in the High Castle, Ransom, The Indian Detective, Medici, Leonardo), the CEO of London-based production company Big Light Productions, during the Monte-Carlo Television Festival which wraps up today. The successful US producer and writer who has been living in Europe since 2010 talked about his style of work, the challenges of producing content in the TV industry on the old continent and revealed that he is currently looking for production partners in Central and Eastern Europe to tap into the massive potential of the region.

Frank Spotnitz moved from the States to Europe back in 2008 which coincided with the Writers Strike at that time, noting that the original reasons were professional - after the strike he was offered less money than before it which he found to be outrageous and this happened not only with one studio so he got suspicious. For years he has been asked by British producers to come to the UK and do a show there and since he has lived in Paris before, he decided it was the right time to move to Europe, especially bearing the mind the fact that he retained the copyright to his work which means more money if it is successful. He did a deal after the strike of 2008, not moving to the UK until 2010 and doing the show Hunted which was on BBC and Cinemax. The show ended after two years but by that time his family didn't want to move to Los Angeles and wanted to stay. Spotnitz noted that "writers are so much more powerful in the States than in Europe and I didn't want to give up the control over my work so I started my own company Big Light Productions in 2013 to stay here and to do my work the way I wanted to do it so I had to become a producer first."

Talking about the current Writers' Strike, Spotnitz said that it is an existential fight for the American writers, they cannot afford to lose and he doesn't think this is going to be resolved quickly but he is a 100% in their corner and that they will prevail or at least get terms that are fair.

Speaking about working in Europe, The X-Files writer noted that "it is harder in many ways here because you don't have these powerful media corporations writing checks, in America you will do an overall deal and you will be covered for two or three years. Here it is project to project, you have to be more entrepreneurial, budgets tend to be smaller, buyers are more conservative in their taste, the shows they are willing to make but I have been able to balance and do shows that I really want like the Medici and Leonardo and The Man in the High Castle back in the States - I have been able to have the best of both worlds".

When commenting on the differences between doing TV in the States and in Europe, as a writer, Spotnitz noted that he has been teaching at a program called Serial Eyes in the past ten years in Berlin which takes 12 writers from all across Europe every year. "Things are actually better now for writers than they have ever been because of the streaming platforms coming to Europe. They have put more money and more creative diversity, writers are now doing shows they have never dreamt of doing 10 years ago thanks to the arrival of the streaming platforms but I believe writers are largely still disempowered in European TV, it is the non-writing producer who is in charge, and the director and writers are often completely cut off the process which is crazy and needs to change. I was really shy about saying that because I am American but it has been so long and the need is so great so I am now vocal about the need to empower the writer, so their voice is heard, it will make the shows better and it is a big culture shift that needs to happen in Europe and I need to find like-minded people." Spotnitz also noted that there are younger generations that watch US television and understand that.

The producer noted that broadcasters in different territories have different styles, they know their market, they know their culture, they have very strong opinions about that and you have to have humility when you come to those countries, you have to listen to them - it doesn't mean they are always right but they usually are, you need to set aside your pre-conceptions and be humble and try to give them what they are looking for while still doing work that you are proud of. Challenging can also be the different management styles and way of communication. In America the writing producer, the showrunner is so empowered and that is not always the case in Europe.

When asked if Spotnitz would sacrifice some creative elements in order to be more universal and work with more producers, he commented that "my guiding principle is do good work. Whatever is going to lead to a good work - I am for it. If it is not going to lead to good work - I am against it so I always try to agree with my partners on what good work is and, hopefully, we all move in the same direction. But sometimes you can't, I have not always succeeded and had some painful experiences". Spotnitz joked about co-productions that it is like getting married without ever having dated - "I've never worked with you before but I agree to spend millions of dollars to do a show with you and now I am going to find who you are - sometimes is a happy marriage and sometimes it is not".

With regard to Central and Eastern Europe, Spotnitz commented that he has explored the TV market in the region and that he had a number of students from Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania and he has gone several times to NEM Zagreb and NEM Dubrovnik and going to a market in Romania next year. "I am very interested in that part of the world, I do think there is a lot of talent that needs nurturing and support and I have found the talent but not the producing partners who see the way I do - I need local partners, I will be very excited to find them - who want to invest and embrace this way of working. It's a massive area for potential growth in CEE but I cannot do it by myself. For all the local co-productions that I do - with the Germans, French, Italians, Canadians you need the local partner who shares you vision."

When it comes to writing talent in CEE, Spotnitz said there are much fewer writers and they are not in power, they have come to Serial Eyes with ambitions but when they return to their home countries, they are often frustrated but not always, as he gave an example with Croatian writer and producer Maja Pek who attended Serial Eyes in 2014 and has her own company now and she is a great success story. He noted that he trains the writers but the industry needs Serial Eyes for producers and for broadcasters too, to adopt best practices which are common to all television which can result in a better work. It is not about money, he noted that The Sopranos was not expensive show, Succession didn't have to be an expensive show, ambition is more important.

As for the hot topic of AI (Spotnitz took part in a panel about the use of artificial intelligence at the Business Content strand of the Festival the previous day) the producer told CEETV that nobody really knows how quickly is going to happen, the specific problems that will emerge - we know they are coming but we don't know exactly how and what the American writers are fighting for is for protection and the ability to keep human beings in charge rather than let the economics of it rule everything. It is a really important fight that will benefit writers everywhere.



Spotnitz founded Big Light in 2013 with a vision to create distinctive and ambitious TV drama series and under his stewardship, Big Light has produced a number of high-end drama productions including Amazon’s Emmy award-winning The Man in the High Castle, Ransom, The Indian Detective and three seasons of Medici for Netflix and Rai, and Leonardo, which is based on the famous Italian artist played by Aidan Turner. Co-created and written by Spotnitz, and co-produced by Big Light Productions and Lux Vide, the series premiered on Rai in Italy and Amazon Prime in the UK & Ireland, and on The CW in the US.

Frank Spotnitz has over 25 years’ experience in television as a writer and producer. Serving as executive producer, he wrote or co-wrote more than 40 episodes of The X‑Files, and as a producer and co-writer of both The X‑Files feature films. He shares three Golden Globes for Best Dramatic Series and a Peabody Award for his work on the seminal science-fiction series, and was Emmy-nominated both for writing and three times Outstanding Drama Series.

Spotnitz’s other credits include Hunted, Strike Back, Night Stalker, Robbery Homicide Division, The Lone Gunmen, Harsh Realm and Millennium.