Chris Sussman Named BBC Director of Comedy, Returning to the Corporation After Netflix Stint

Chris Sussman has been named the BBC's next Director of Comedy, taking on the role widely described as the biggest job in British comedy commissioning, according to Deadline.

Sussman replaces Jon Petrie, who announced earlier in 2026 that he would leave the BBC to join Hat Trick Productions — the independent producer behind Derry Girls and Have I Got News For You Deadline. Emma Lawson will continue as acting Director of Comedy until Sussman starts next month.

He will report directly to BBC Chief Content Officer Kate Phillips, who said Sussman secured the post after a highly competitive interview process. In the role, he leads the BBC's comedy commissioning team and oversees a budget and a slate that includes Here We Go, Amandaland, Small Prophet and Ann Droid — the latter renewed for a second season in the same week as the appointment Deadline.

Sussman is a familiar face at the BBC. He previously served on the BBC's comedy commissioning team, where he looked after shows including Fleabag, Mum, Bad Education, Cuckoo, Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe, Rev and Him & Her Deadline. He then moved to BBC Studios — the BBC's commercial production arm — as Head of Comedy in 2016, leading its comedy team across TV, radio and online in the UK BBC Media Centre.

During that stint, which ran from 2016 to 2019, Sussman oversaw a slate that included This Country, Inside No 9, W1A, Famalam, Upstart Crow, Two Doors Down and Mrs Brown's Boys Deadline. He was also responsible for securing BBC Studios' first commissions with Apple TV+ for Trying and with Amazon's Prime Video for Good Omens, on which he served as an executive producer alongside Neil Gaiman and Caroline Skinner BBC Media Centre.

In 2019, Sussman left the BBC for Netflix, where he was Director of UK Scripted Series until 2022 Deadline. His Netflix credits included Man Versus Bee, Baby Reindeer, Stay Close, Bodies and Black Mirror. Since departing the streaming platform, he has worked as an executive producer on Ludwig, the BBC comedy that won an International Emmy Deadline.

For viewers, the appointment means the person deciding which comedy projects the BBC commissions — and which ones get a second series — will be someone who has spent time on both sides of the public-service and streaming divide. Sussman's track record spans scripted comedy, drama-adjacent series and international co-productions, and he inherits a slate already in motion. Ann Droid's renewal suggests the pipeline is active on day one.

What gives the appointment its texture is the circularity. Sussman started in BBC commissioning, moved to BBC Studios, jumped to Netflix and spent time as an independent producer. Now he returns to the top of the comedy ladder he once climbed from the bottom — this time with the final say.