Warner Bros. Discovery CEE Boss Says He Is Supercharging “Original Documentaries That Push Boundaries” In The Region

deadline.com:

Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) Jamie Cooke is supercharging “original documentaries that push the boundaries” from his Central & Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Turkey region by greenlighting around 10 docs per year.

Cooke took charge of the vast territory following the WarnerMedia/Discovery mega-merger and was speaking to Deadline prior to a NEM keynote as he nears one year in post.

While WBD is taking a light-touch approach to ordering original content from the region, especially prior to the launch of the rebranded Max streamer, Cooke said it is documentaries where he is most looking to make an impact. “Pushing the boundaries and shining a light on topics that are challenging is really important for me,” he told Deadline. “We need to be measured and cautious in the investments we are making right now and the focus for me is really on the docs side.” The Discovery vet, who is responsible for a team of around 600 to 700 people, cited examples including the soon-to-launch First Five about the inner workings of Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s all-female cabinet, Polish LGBTQ+ doc Naked.Loud.Proud and Arab influencer series Dare to Take Risks.

The latter, Cooke said, “really challenges perceptions of what a Middle Eastern woman is,” while First Five “is a topic that HBO can do really well.” Opportunities for scripted originals such as HBO Max’s Berlinale Series Award-nominee Spy/Master starring Happy Valley’s Alec Secăreanu still exist but, at present, these original bets will be few and far between. “There is room for scripted but the question is what kind of scripted and how successful can it be,” added Cooke, who praised Spy/Master, which is 65% in English and has an international cast, for being local but