Rogan Productions Opens First International Office in Johannesburg
Rogan Productions has opened its first permanent international office in Johannesburg, launching Rogan South Africa with founders James and Soleta Rogan as co-CEOs (Deadline).
The move gives the London-based documentary producer a foothold on the African continent for the first time. The company is searching for a local senior producer to lead the Johannesburg operation, according to Deadline.
Alongside the launch, the Rogans have both taken on the co-CEO title. Previously, Soleta Rogan served as Managing Director and James Rogan as Creative Director (Deadline). The shift consolidates leadership at the top as the company expands beyond the UK.
There is movement elsewhere in the group as well. Mark Hedgecoe, who heads Rogan Scotland from Glasgow, is leaving for STV in October, and a replacement is being sought (Deadline).
The South African connection is not new for Rogan Productions. The company produced the feature documentary Original Sin: My Son the Killer for Showmax, the South African streamer that has since shut down. That project was co-produced with the UK's Electric Shadow Company in association with Brazil's Red Earth and South Africa's Combined Artists (Deadline).
More recently, Rogan produced the three-part documentary series Free Nelson Mandela for Channel 4, timed roughly 35 years after Mandela's release from prison. BBC Studios is now shopping that series to international buyers (Deadline).
The company's credits span a wide range of broadcasters and platforms. They include Boom Box: Beats and Betrayal for HBO Max, Bowie: The Final Act for Film4/Channel 4, and two BAFTA winners: Grenfell: Uncovered for Netflix and Uprising for the BBC (Deadline). The founders were profiled in Deadline's International Disruptors series in early 2023, which noted their work on projects involving Steve McQueen, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle across Netflix, the BBC, and Channel 4 (Deadline).
Rogan Productions has also been nominated for Best Independent Production Company at the 2026 Broadcast Awards (Rogan Productions, Facebook).
For a company whose work has already reached South African screens, a permanent Johannesburg base means future productions can be commissioned and staffed locally rather than produced from London. The office is not yet fully built out — a senior producer hire is pending — but the structure is in place for Rogan to operate as a UK-South Africa producer from this point forward.
