Originals, Adaptations, and the IP Balancing Act
From London writers’ rooms to Los Angeles deal sheets, scripted television now walks a tightrope between the sparkle of new ideas and the security of familiar brands. How can creators keep audiences curious without saturating screens? What safeguards can prevent commercial logic from steam‑rolling artistic ambition? In this conversation, industry heavy-hitters—See-Saw Films Co‑Executive Producer Billy Bowring (SLOW HORSES), Candy Shop Film Writer & Showrunner Bob Konrad, Banijay Entertainment Scripted Senior Director Denis Leroy, and Globalgate Entertainment Executive Vice President of Worldwide Content Meg Thompson—weigh the economics of proven IP against the thrill of originality, dissect multi‑territory rights hurdles, and ask how predictive data can flag fatigue before viewers click away.
SPEAKERS
BILLY BOWRING
Co-Executive Producer, See-Saw Films | UK
DENIS LEROY
Senior Director, Banijay Entertainment Scripted | FR
MODERATED BY
TIME
Wednesday, August 20th, 2025
10:30 – 11:30 (CET)
LOCATION
Festival Garden
MEG THOMSON
Executive Vice President, Worldwide Content, Globalgate Entertainment | US & UK
MATIJA DRAGOJEVIĆ
Scriptwriter / RS
Billy Bowring
Billy Bowring started his career in London at Number 9 Films as a producer’s assistant, working on feature films including Gerard Johnson’s HYENA for Film4 and Todd Haynes’s CAROL, starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. He then moved to Sydney, where he began working in script development for Fremantle. Over four years there, he worked on productions such as WENTWORTH and PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK. He joined See-Saw Films in 2019 as a development producer. In his time working across See-Saw’s slate, the company produced Jane Campion’s THE POWER OF THE DOG, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, and Jesse Plemons; Thomas M. Wright’s THE STRANGER, starring Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris; FIREBITE, an Indigenous genre series for AMC by writer/director Warwick Thornton; and Kitty Green’s THE ROYAL HOTEL, starring Julia Garner. After returning to London, Billy has taken the position of Co-Executive Producer on SLOW HORSES, starring Gary Oldman, for Apple TV.
Denis Leroy
Denis Leroy was born in Beirut and grew up in Lebanon, Austria, Greece, and Spain before pursuing business and film studies in France. He is currently Senior Director at Banijay Entertainment, where he plays a key role within the company’s central scripted division. A specialist in sourcing and developing international scripted formats and literary IP, he has spearheaded deals for acclaimed adaptations like SKAM, FLEABAG, and LA CAZA. MONTEPERDIDO (RIVIÈRE-PERDUE), and struck numerous deals for best-selling authors incyding Franck Thilliez and Michael Bussi. With over thirty years of experience in the French and international television industries, Leroy’s career spans independent production houses and major players like Gaumont and Warner Bros, where he was instrumental in shaping early ventures into scripted ventures and cross-border co-productions. With hands-on experience as a line producer and executive producer in more than twenty countries, Leroy combines creative instinct with a deep understanding of production, financing, international distribution, and partnership-building to bring powerful narratives to screen.
Meg Thomson
Meg Thomson is currently Executive Vice President of Worldwide Content for Globalgate Entertainment, a consortium of companies including Lionsgate, Rai Cinema, Nordisk, TF1, Lotte, Tobis, Rakuten, Televisa, and other international distributors and producers that creates commercial local-language films and television. Recent film credits include THE TURKISH COFFEE TABLE (2025), SCHITTEREND (the Netherlands, 2024), START ME UP (France, 2024), and WEDDING DRESS (the Philippines, 2022). On the television side, Globalgate has several series in the works, including RESET GAME, KING’S RANSOM, and three localised versions (for Irish, South Korean, and Mexican markets) of the Dutch series SWANENBURG. As a producer, Thomson recently released the film FREUD’S LAST SESSION starring Anthony Hopkins, and just wrapped the UK-German co-production VIRGINIA WOOLF’S NIGHT & DAY.
Matija Dragojević
Matija Dragojević was born in 1991, Belgrade, Yugoslavia. As the country fell apart, Matija grew up on film sets, annoying his filmmaker parents with endless questions. Matija lived in Los Angeles for several years before moving back to what was now called Serbia, just in time for his own identity crisis. Following studies in psychology, Matija pivoted towards screenwriting, earning an MA in Serial Storytelling from ifs Film School in Cologne. Matija is an alumnus of Midpoint, CNC’s Going European program, and the Laureate of the CanneSeries Residency. He co-authored the series “Awake,” a supernatural detective thriller, which was selected for competition at CANNESERIES, where it won the Audience Award. On the industry side, Matija worked for Sundance Labs, Seriencamp, and Berlinale Series Market, where he is the Conference Programmer and Head of Programming at Seriesly Berlin. Matija also offers quality post-production services to his 4-year-old son. He lives in Berlin. Representation by Homebase Agency.