Nicola Shindler, CEO of Quay Street Production and the producer of such acclaimed British series as It’s A Sin, Queer as Folk and Happy Valley, has been named the recipient of this year’s Woman in Series award by international television festival Series Mania.
Series Mania founder and general director Laurence Herszberg and Francesco Capurro, director of the festival’s industry section, the Series Mania Forum, unveiled the news on Wednesday, timed to International Women’s Day.
The Women in Series award, presented in association with female professionals associations the European Women’s Audiovisual Network and Pour Les Femmes Dans Les Médias, honors the vision and leadership of “a remarkable woman from the audiovisual industry.” Shindler will receive the prize at a gala ceremony in Lille, France on March 21.
A prolific producer, Shindler has been a driving force in high-end British drama for decades. She’s worked with the likes of Russell T. Davies, Sally Wainwright, Sarah Solemani, Paul Abbot, Tony Marchant, Amelia Bullmore, Lenny Henry, Matt Greenhalgh and many more to bring to the screen such U.K. dramas as the Channel 4/HBO limited series It’s A Sin and BBC/HBO’s Years and Years, long-running BBC hit Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax, Channel 4’s Queer as Folk, Finding Alice, No Return and Butterfly for ITV and Harlan Coben’s The Stranger for Netflix.
‘Happy Valley’
BBC
“Nicola is a true leader in every sense of the word and is certainly worthy of this wonderful award,” said Herszberg.
In 2021, Shindler set up her own outfit, Quay Street Productions, with backing from ITV Studios. The company’s first production, Nolly, a limited series following the rise and fall of British soap star Noele Gordon, written by It’s a Sin‘s Russell T. Davies and starring Helena Bonham Carter, bowed on ITVX in the U.K. last month. Upcoming series include the comedic-drama Significant Other, starring Katherine Parkinson and Youssef Kerkour, also for ITVX, After the Flood for ITV, Harlan Coben’s Fool Me Once for Netflix, and the feature-length drama Men Up for the BBC.
Before launching Quay Street, Shindler founded RED Production Company in 1998, which she led for more than 20 years. She also previously served as chief executive and chief creative officer at StudioCanal UK.
“I’m really honored to receive Series Mania’s Woman in Series Award,” said Shindler in a statement. “I love making drama, and to be recognized for my body of work is a privilege. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the most incredibly talented people – writers, producers, directors and so many more, who have enabled me to do so, and I have to thank them for their commitment and support.”
The 2023 Series Mania festival runs March 17-24.
