Jason Simms, a former commercial strategy executive at Sky Studios and Fox Networks Group, has launched a London-based scripted company called Fusebox Entertainment. The outfit will focus on drama and comedy, and it is combining two functions that rarely live under the same roof: consultancy for producers and financiers, and an owned slate of drama coproductions developed directly with creative and production partners.
A consultancy-and-slate hybrid
Fusebox will offer executive producer services and consultancy across development, coproduction, financing and distribution to producers, networks and financing businesses working on scripted projects. The company says it has already secured consultancy partnerships in the US, UK, New Zealand and Poland.
It has also struck a raft of coproduction and development deals, including with Fifth Season-backed Cosmopolitan Pictures, The Story Collective, Nordic production company Saga Film, and High Road Entertainment, the new label from Richard Tulk-Hart and James Durie. Further details are expected shortly.
Why the connector role is becoming a line item
The launch is a signal for producers and financiers watching the scripted market. Commissioning priorities are changing, consolidation is squeezing buyers, audiences are fragmenting across platforms, and margins are thinning while financing stacks become more complex.
Simms put the pressure plainly in a launch statement: “Forging the right connections to build projects isn’t just a ‘nice to have’ anymore; it’s now a creative and commercial imperative.”
That reframes packaging and relationships as a specialist service, not a favour. For media planners and entertainment finance teams, the practical takeaway is to treat the packaging function as a line item and bring in the right connectors before a project’s financing has hardened.
Fusebox’s early partner map also matters. Spreading from the US and UK to New Zealand and Poland suggests the business is being built around multi-territory financing from day one, rather than waiting for a domestic commission. In a market where commissions rarely cover budgets, that international footprint can be the difference between a packaged show and a made show.
Track record behind the pitch
- At Sky Studios, Simms oversaw commercial strategy, deficit financing and producer relationships for more than 60 Sky originals and third-party premium scripted series.
- He developed the local originals strategy that supported SkyShowtime and produced the Polish hit Sleboda.
- As senior VP of global acquisitions at Fox Networks Group, he built the scripted ownership model across more than 120 markets, securing The Walking Dead, Dexter and Legion.
That combination of broadcaster-side and acquisitions-side experience is the commercial pitch: a de-risking layer for independent scripted money that can speak both commissioning and distribution language.
What to watch
The first test will be whether the early partnerships become commissioned series. A company like Fusebox can announce a network of deals; the market will judge it on whether those partnerships convert into greenlights and sensible deficit splits. The dual revenue model, advisory fees plus an owned slate, is what makes the launch worth tracking beyond a routine executive move.
Source: C21media
