Sisters Clelia Mountford and Saskia Schuster are to work side-by-side at Mountford’s nascent scripted indie Sunburnt Penguin.
Former ITV head of comedy Schuster [main picture] is joining the former Merman exec’s All3Media-backed label as an executive producer across its development slate.
She was previously head of scripted at Fulwell 73, where she developed projects with James Graham, Jessica Hynes, Stephen Poliakoff, Tom Basden and Sue Perkins, among others.
Her other indie credentials include stints as head of development at both Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller’s Toff Media and Objective, where she worked on Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong’s C4 series Peep Show and Fresh Meat.#
However, Schuster is best known for founding gender equality and new talent initiative Comedy 50:50 during her six years as ITV’s head of comedy and comedy drama.
One tenet of the scheme was to ‘ban’ all-male writing teams, arguing they can be “aggressive and bullying”.
Her ITV commissions included The Stand-Up Sketch Show, Don’t Hate the Playaz, Plebs and Timewasters.
She has also been a commissioner for Sky, greenlighting the likes of Yonderland, Psychobitches and Little Crackers.
Schuster said: “Growing up, we were obsessed with stories and put on endless productions in the back garden to the bemusement of our neighbours. Now I get to work with Clelia and I’m excited we can continue our shared passion for scripted content.
“Sunburnt Penguin embodies Clelia’s vision for outstanding scripted programmes, beautifully executed with wit and heart. I am looking forward to working with emerging talent, as well as some of the most established names in the industry to build my own slate and collaborate on existing projects.”
Mountford - who parted ways with Merman co-founder, writer/actor Sharon Horgan, to set up Sunburnt Penguin in late 2024 - said: “Saskia has fantastic broadcast commissioning experience, as well as years of production expertise with iconic, popular and genre-defying programming credits under her belt.
“She is full of brilliant, creative ideas, but is also disciplined and strategic in her approach. She is a passionate mentor to new and emerging talent … And to top it all, she’s my sister.”
