Former BBC2 controller and Discovery Channel president Jane Root has resurfaced as head of a production start-up, Nutopia, which has already received its first commission.

There has been much speculation over Root’s next move since she left Discovery in November 2007 after three years, saying she wanted to return to the UK to pursue other opportunities.

She was tipped as a top candidate for the role of BBC1 controller, which was vacated by Peter Fincham following the Queengate scandal that October. The role, however, eventually went to Jay Hunt.

Root (left) was also rumoured to be in contention for the role of HBO Entertainment president after Carolyn Strauss left in March 2008. That job was filled by Sue Naegle.

While few would have expected Root to bow out of the channel executive business altogether, she does have experience with successful production start-ups. Before joining the Beeb as its first female channel controller, Root was a founder of UK indie Wall to Wall, which has since been acquired by the Shed group and made a coveted move into the US.

Nutopia’s first project will be America: The Story of Us, a 12×60′ commission for US cablenet History that is due for delivery in 2010.

The series will tell the story of how modern America came to be, looking at the role of innovations in technology and engineering, conflicts and visionary thinkers in shaping the US into the most powerful country in the world. The production will use CGI technology and dramatisation techniques.

“America: The Story of Us is not only the biggest project History has ever undertaken, it is the definitive event of the genre, underlining History’s ownership,” said the network’s executive VP and general manager, Nancy Dubuc.

“There has never been a time when people are thinking so fervently and passionately about history. Now is the moment to tell the most epic, essential and groundbreaking story of America in a new way for a new generation.”

Emily Brookes
12 May 2009
© C21 Media 2009