Plimsoll Studios promotes Nathan Small to lead natural history and kids shows
Plimsoll Studios has promoted Nathan Small to Creative Director for natural history and kids and family.
Deadline reported the appointment as an exclusive story on 13 October 2026. The promotion moves Small from directing series into leading them from the top.
He will work across both slates, meaning the line-ups of shows in development and production. He will report to Mark Brownlow, Head of Natural History at Plimsoll Studios. A creative director in this context develops new programme ideas, hires key talent and guides shows from pitch to screen.
Small has built his name on close-up wildlife. His credits include Apple TV+'s Tiny World, National Geographic and Disney+'s A Real Bug's Life, Netflix's Nightmares of Nature and ITV's World's Wildest Cities. That run covers four major buyers, from subscription streamers to free-to-air television.
A Real Bug's Life brought him his widest recognition so far. The series won six Emmys across its two seasons, including one for Small's cinematography, the craft of lighting and shooting the picture. He directed Nightmares of Nature after A Real Bug's Life, including the 'Cabin In The Woods' episode, according to Plimsoll Studios. Most recently he was series director, meaning the senior director with overall responsibility for a series, on World's Wildest Cities.
His route into television was not direct. He started working life as an advertising photographer, shooting still images for brands. He then completed an MA in Directing and Producing Science and Natural History at the National Film and Television School. That specialist course trains producers and directors in science storytelling and fieldcraft.
The new job sits inside a larger organisation. Plimsoll Studios is owned by ITV Studios, the production and distribution arm of British broadcaster ITV. Plimsoll recently rebranded from Plimsoll Productions to Plimsoll Studio and reorganised around five creative divisions. They are natural history and adventure, live, entertainment, kids and family, and digital.
For viewers, this kind of promotion matters behind the camera. The person who decides which animals, habitats and family stories get pitched is often the person who has filmed them. He knows small creatures well. Expect more stories told from ground level.
