Sussman named BBC Director of Comedy
August 28, 2026



BBC Chief Content Officer Kate Phillips has appointed Chris Sussman as Director of Comedy. He was previously Director of Scripted Series at Netflix UK and was Head of Comedy at BBC Studios.

At Netflix he helped build the UK scripted slate, working across series such as Man Versus Bee, Baby Reindeer, Stay Close, Bodies and Black Mirror. As Head of Comedy at BBC Studios, he oversaw both the TV and radio comedy slates, including series such as This Country, Inside No 9, W1A, Famalam, Upstart Crow, Ladhood, Two Doors Down and Vic & Bob’s Big Night Out. He was also responsible for winning BBC Studios’ first commissions with Apple (Trying) and Amazon (Good Omens).


During his previous time in the BBC Comedy Commissioning team, he was responsible for series such as Fleabag, Mum, Bad Education, Cuckoo, Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe, Rev, Ambassadors and Him & Her. More recently, he has been working as an executive producer on the International Emmy award-winning BBC comedy Ludwig.

Sussman will report directly to Phillips and lead the BBC comedy commissioning team.

Phillips commented: “After a highly competitive interview process I’m delighted that Chris will be taking up the role of the BBC’s Director of Comedy. With a wealth of experience across multiple indies and broadcasters he has the smarts and skills needed to lead us into a very funny future.”

Sussman added: “What a dream job! I’ve loved BBC comedy since I was a young boy listening to tapes of Hancock and The Goons, and the thought of trying to make more classics for a new generation to fall in love with is a daunting but irresistible one. I’ll be joining a brilliant team who are already producing some fantastic series, so I’m looking forward to carrying on where Jon left off and defining British comedy in the coming years.”

Sussman starts his new role in September and Emma Lawson will continue as Acting Director in the interim.