Vice scales back UK team after key staff departures

Vice Studios is scaling back its UK team following the departure of its creative director and a new role for its European head of production.

According to a report in Broadcast, the producer has no plans to hunt for a successor to Yonni Usiskin, who stood down as creative director at the end of 2021.

Usiskin has joined BBC Studios as a senior executive working on international documentaries.

Previously a producer/director on Twofour’s Bafta-nominated Educating Essex, Mentorn Media’s The Fried Chicken Shop and Raw TV’s The Secret Life of Students, Usiskin held various posts in more than seven years at Vice Media.

He joined as a supervising producer, EMEA for Vice News, moved to become an executive producer then vice-president, head of programming on channel Viceland UK, taking up the creative director role in May 2018.

Meanwhile, Vice Studios UK head of production Rosie Taylor has joined Chatterbox Media in the same role.

The former BBC current affairs production executive took up a UK post at Vice Media in 2018, adding Europe to her role in 2020.

Vice told Broadcast that Taylor is continuing to work for them for two days a week rather than working exclusively for Chatterbox.

Vice Studios UK has produced docs for BBC2 (Inside the Brexit Storm and The Satanic Verses), Channel 5 (Jack the Ripper: 5 Victims; Cocaine: Britain’s Epidemic), Dave (Beat the Internet) and Paramount+ (MH370: The Lost Flight).

However, it is understood not to consider the UK a priority as it focuses on securing commissions from premium US buyers.