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Andrew Harries''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''. Volume 15, page 1493, reg # 792. (born 7 April 1954) is chief executive and co-founder of Left Bank Pictures, a UK based production company formed in 2007. In a career spanning four decades he has produced television dramas including '' The Royle Family,'' ''
Cold Feet ''Cold Feet'' is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premieres, Comedy ...
,'' the revivals of '' Prime Suspect'' and '' Cracker'', as well as the
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
-winning television play '' The Deal''. In 2006 he received an Academy Award nomination as producer of '' The Queen,'' which saw Helen Mirren win Best Actress for her role, and in 2007, the
British Academy of Film and Television Arts The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
awarded him the Special Award in Honour of Alan Clarke. 2011 saw the
Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
confer a Fellowship on Harries for outstanding contributions to the broadcasting industry. He has been described by Broadcast Magazine as "one of the UK's most outstanding drama producers". Since 2007, Left Bank has produced the television series ''
Wallander Wallander may refer to: TV, film, books * Kurt Wallander, a fictional Swedish police inspector in novels by Henning Mankell :*Wallander (film series), ''Wallander'' (film series), Swedish-language television films of the Wallander stories starring ...
'', '' Strike Back,'' '' Outlander (TV series)'', ''The Replacement'' amongst many other acclaimed dramas. In 2016, they released ''
The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
'', the first American-British television series produced exclusively for
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
. The Golden Globe, SAG and Emmy winning series, written by Peter Morgan, has been very well received by critics and audiences. Their fourth feature film, Dark River was released on 23 February 2018. It was written and directed by Clio Barnard, stars Ruth Wilson, Mark Stanley, and Sean Bean. It screened in the Platform section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Left Bank Pictures has won numerous industry awards, including Best Independent Production Company at the Edinburgh TV Awards (2017) and Broadcast Awards (2018).


Family

Harries is married to filmmaker and writer Rebecca Frayn, daughter of the playwright and novelist Michael Frayn (now married to biographer Claire Tomalin). Their twin sons, Jack and Finn, ran the JacksGap YouTube channel from 2011 until 2017.


Early life and education

Andy Harries was born in Inverness, Scotland, on 7 April 1954 and grew up in
Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...
, England, receiving primary education at West Town Primary School until 1961, and secondary education at the public Oakham School.BFI Film & TV Database: Harries, ANDY
". British Film Institute. Retrieved on 2 March 2008.
Armstrong, Stephen (27 October 2008)
"Making mischief is a good thing"
''The Guardian'' (Guardian News & Media): p. 5 (''MediaGuardian'' supplement).
He grew up aspiring to be a war correspondent in
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, or an investigative journalist; his idols were Harold Evans, Jon Swain and John Pilger.Clarke, Steve (May 2007).
Independent spirit
. ''Television'' (Royal Television Society) 44 (5).
He left college at the age of 17 with poor A Level results and became a trainee reporter on the ''Peterborough Evening Telegraph'' newspaper. His time on the newspaper raised his awareness of politics, and he sought to further his understanding of it by studying at university. He applied to various northern universities to break away from his southern middle-class lifestyle, and was accepted at Hull University.Harries, Andy. Interview with John Mair (25 April 2007).
Coventry Conversations
''. Coventry University Podcasting Service. Retrieved on 2 March 2008.
Harries stayed at Hull until he was 21, though continued to work at the ''Evening Telegraph'' during holidays. At university he developed an interest in
music journalism Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary o ...
and found an outlet for this by writing reviews for ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
''.


Early career (1976–1981)

After leaving Hull, Harries moved to London to work for the Southern News Service
news agency A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and News broadcasting, television Broadcasting, broadcasters. A news agency ma ...
, writing diary pieces for the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
'' and '' News of the World'' from 1975 to 1976. On the advice of a friend, he applied for a position as a researcher for
Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...
in Manchester. He did not understand the appeal of television production, and as a result he was turned away at two interviews before being hired in 1976.Elliot, Katy (3 November 2000).
Harries goes large
. ''Broadcast'' (Emap Media).
Shortly after being hired he was taken aside by the news producer and asked to read the on-air bulletin for the nightly broadcast. He read the news for three months until one night when he condensed a six-minute bulletin into three minutes. He attributed this to stage fright, which caused him to speak too fast. The rest of the production crew were not ready to move on to the next news items, leaving Harries standing in silence for several minutes. Harries recalled in a 2007 interview that Steve Morrison, the producer of the bulletin, called him into his office and berated him, telling him he did not deserve to be on television and that he would no longer be reading the news. Morrison's remarks angered Harries to such a point that he assaulted the man. Aware that he was going to lose his job, he contacted a Granada colleague who got him a new job at Granada's London centre, which he took up at the age of 23. Pursuing his interest in investigative journalism, Harries worked as a researcher on the current affairs programme '' World in Action'', where he met Paul Greengrass. While Greengrass achieved success in exposing alleged corruption involving Manchester United F.C. chairman Louis Edwards, Harries investigated irregularities in the British Singles Chart. Greengrass's investigation was a success, though Harries admits his own programme "didn't make a blind bit of difference".


Freelance and Channel X (1981–1992)

In 1981, Harries left Granada and moved into freelance producing and directing. He directed the documentary series ''Africa'' in 1984 before beginning a collaboration with Paul Yule, with whom he made four films in
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
between 1985 and 1989—'' Martin Chambi and the Heirs of the Incas'', ''Our God the Condor'', '' Iquitos'', and '' Mario Vargas Llosa: The Novelist Who Would Be President''—and working on editions of '' The South Bank Show'' and ''
Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...
''. While directing a corporate video for BT he met Jonathan Ross, who was his assistant for the day. Ross invited Harries to direct a pilot for a chat show he and Alan Marke had developed that was based on '' Late Night with David Letterman''. The pilot was a success and Ross found a television audience with ''The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross'', which first aired in 1988.Belcher, David (2 September 1999). "Funny how things turn out". ''The Herald'' (Newsquest): p. 14. Harries formed a production company called Sleeping Partners with Greengrass in the latter part of the decade, which produced Ross's '' The Incredibly Strange Film Show'' and comedian
Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British Jamaicans, British-Jamaican comedian, actor and writer. He gained success as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ' ...
's ''Lenny Live and Unleashed'' film.Dawtrey, Adam (24 February 2007).
'Queen' gives Harries his independence
. ''Variety'' (Reed Business Information).
The latter was directed by Harries and was edited together from a number of performances by Henry at the Hackney Empire in 1989. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''s film critic called the direction "unobtrusive". The 1990s began with more direction and production for Ross and Marke's Channel X production company; in 1991 he made the documentary ''Viva Elvis!'' and executive produced Middlemarch Films' ''The Ghosts of Oxford Street'', a
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
about Oxford Street's history. The script for ''Ghosts'' was written by Harries's wife, Rebecca Frayn. The same year, he developed a script with Peter Morgan called ''Bhundu Beat'', a film described by '' Variety'' as "a bizarre remake of '' A Hard Day's Night'' featuring the briefly fashionable Zimbabwean band the Bhundu Boys and Brit comic Lenny Henry". With a development budget of £2,000, Harries sent Morgan on a research trip to
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
, taking a circuitous route that lasted for three days. ''Bhundu Beat'' was never made.


Second Granada career (1992–2007)


Controller of Comedy

At the 1991 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Harries personally bought the television rights to '' An Evening with Gary Lineker'', a comedy play written by Arthur Smith and Chris England based around a group of
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
fans at the
1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...
. Smith bet Harries £100 that he would not be able to get the adaptation on television before the next World Cup. Harries tried selling Smith and England's screenplay to the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
,
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
, LWT,
Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
and
Central Independent Television ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the ITV (TV network), Independent Television franchisee in Midlands, the English Midlands ...
to no avail. The BBC offered to produce it as a studio play but Harries wanted a full-length film to distinguish it from the original play, which was by then playing at London's West End. He was reluctant to offer the script to Granada because of his previous experience with the company.Cook, William (13 June 1994). "Football crazy, football fad". ''The Guardian'' (Guardian Newspapers): p. T17. However, in 1992 he was accepted the position of controller of comedy at Granada and ''An Evening with Gary Lineker'' was made. Harries was disappointed that pressure from Granada's management had forced him to replace so many of the original stage cast; England was replaced by Paul Merton, leaving Caroline Quentin as the only original actor. The Edinburgh Fringe played an important role in Harries's early commissions at Granada; he was not fond of traditional styles of comedy and was always looking for alternative comedians. These included Caroline Aherne, Steve Coogan and John Thomson (though Coogan "got away" from him after the BBC offered to produce his Alan Partridge shows). After the failure of ''Bhundu Beat'', Harries commissioned Peter Morgan to write "Mickey Love" in 1993, one of a series of short comedy films for the Rik Mayall series ''Rik Mayall Presents''. In 1994, after turning down an offer for "the number three position" at Channel 4 and extending his contract with Granada to become controller of entertainment and comedy, he commissioned '' The Mrs Merton Show'' from Aherne. In negotiating a second series with the BBC a few years later, another series from Aherne was included; '' The Royle Family'', a sitcom featuring a working-class northern family, aired on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
from 1998 to 2000. The first two episodes were filmed with a studio audience, something Harries did not approve of. He scrapped these episodes and had them refilmed without a laugh track.Gibson, Janine (1 November 1999).
Laugh? You will
. ''The Guardian'' (Guardian News & Media): p. 4 (''MediaGuardian'' supplement).
''The Royle Family'' returned for a one-off special in 2006, an achievement Harries described as giving him no greater pleasure. A spin-off of ''The Mrs Merton Show'' was commissioned by Harries from Aherne in 1999; '' Mrs Merton and Malcolm'' was based around Mrs Merton and her son Malcolm, played by Craig Cash. The programme was Aherne's first critical failure, which Harries blamed on the BBC One schedulers. In 1995 he commissioned a comedy drama on spec from Mike Bullen, a BBC radio producer and first-time writer. Like ''An Evening with Gary Lineker'', ''The Perfect Match'' was based around football and received respectable reviews. Harries was interested in producing more comedy dramas, based on the success of American programmes like '' Thirtysomething'', and assigned Granada producer Christine Langan to work with Bullen. Langan and Bullen developed ''
Cold Feet ''Cold Feet'' is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premieres, Comedy ...
'', which was broadcast in 1997 and was commissioned for a full series in 1998. It won the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2002, which Harries collected with Bullen and Spencer Campbell. Harries executive produced two more series of Bullen's; '' Life Begins'' (2004–2006) and ''All About George'' (2005). His first panel show produced came in 1999 with
Mel and Sue Mel Giedroyc (born 5 June 1968) and Sue Perkins (born 22 September 1969), known collectively as Mel and Sue, are an English comedy double act. They are known for hosting the BAFTA Award-winning BBC One cookery series '' The Great British ...
's '' Casting Couch''. The show was Mel and Sue's first programme made for ITV following the success of ''
Light Lunch ''Light Lunch'' (later ''Late Lunch'') was a Channel 4 lunch-time comedy chatshow broadcast on weekdays at 12:30pm between 24 March 1997 and 27 February 1998, which was moved to weeknights at 6:00pm between 31 March 1998 and 5 March 1999. It ...
'' for Channel 4. ''Casting Couch'' had low viewing figures and was not recommissioned. It was one of several comedies commissioned by Harries in 1999 that were produced by Justin Judd. Others included '' Dark Ages'' and ''My Wonderful Life''. Judd and Harries began developing ''Dark Ages''—a sitcom set at the turn of the
2nd millennium File:2nd millennium montage.png, From top left, clockwise: in 1492, Christopher Columbus reaches the New World, opening the European colonization of the Americas; the American Revolution, one of the late 1700s Enlightenment-inspired Atlantic Rev ...
—in 1997 but could not make it work with the writer at the time. They proposed it to ''
Red Dwarf A red dwarf is the smallest kind of star on the main sequence. Red dwarfs are by far the most common type of fusing star in the Milky Way, at least in the neighborhood of the Sun. However, due to their low luminosity, individual red dwarfs are ...
'' writer
Rob Grant Robert Grant is an English comedy writer, television producer and co-creator of the ''Red Dwarf'' comedy franchise. Since ''Red Dwarf'', Grant has written two television series, ''The Strangerers'' and ''Dark Ages (TV series), Dark Ages'', and ...
, who liked the idea, and wrote all six episodes. ''Dark Ages'' aired nightly during the Christmas 1999 period. A second series was proposed—Harries said it would "hit its stride" then—but ITV did not recommission it. ''My Wonderful Life'' was another ratings disaster. Harries blamed ITV Network Centre and publicly criticised the network, courting the ire of its director of channels David Liddiment.


Drama and film brief

In September 2000, Harries's portfolio was significantly expanded when he was appointed Granada's controller of drama, following the resignations of Sue Hogg and Simon Lewis. 2002 commissions included '' Doctor Zhivago'' and ''
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
''. ITV would provide only £750,000 for each hour of the serials, so Harries approached US broadcaster WGBH to make up the remaining funds. Following the merging of Granada Films with Granada Productions in 2002, Harries's brief was expanded to include films. 2003 was a significant year for Harries's drama output; Peter Morgan approached Granada with an idea for a drama documenting the conjectured pact between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown before the 1994 Labour Party leadership election. Granada's chief executive Charles Allen was not keen on producing '' The Deal'' but Harries and John Whiston persuaded him otherwise. ITV initially agreed to show it but pulled out before filming began. Harries offered it to Channel 4, who took it within 24 hours. ''The Deal'' was a critical success and won the British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama. That same year Harries brought back the drama serial '' Prime Suspect'', which had not been produced since the star Helen Mirren quit in 1995. Mirren agreed to return for ''Prime Suspect: The Last Witness'' only if it was "about something". Two years later it returned for the seventh and final serial, entitled ''The Final Act'', in which Jane Tennison, Mirren's character, confronts her alcoholism in a sub-plot. Lynda La Plante, who created ''Prime Suspect'' in 1989, was critical of the decision to "make ennisona drunk", though Harries rebutted, saying, "Lynda was the one who started Jane Tennison drinking heavily—it's not out of character". In 2004, Harries was ranked number eleven on a list of the most powerful figures in British TV drama, compiled by industry experts for the ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
''. During the read-throughs for ''The Last Witness'' Harries watched other actors and production staff react to Mirren as if she was "like the Queen". Already in pre-production was a follow-up to ''The Deal'' that would focus on the
royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...
in the week following the
death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
of
Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...
. Peter Morgan was due to return as the writer,
Stephen Frears Sir Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is a British director and producer of film and television, often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply-drawn characters. He has received numerous a ...
was signed on as director and Harries suggested to Mirren that she play the Queen. Mirren agreed and the film, co-produced by Granada and Pathé, was released in September 2006. Among the numerous awards for which it was nominated were the
BAFTA Award for Best Film The BAFTA Award for Best Film is a film award given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards. It has been given since the 1st BAFTA Awards, representing the best films of 19 ...
and the
Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film a ...
(the former it won). Despite the success of the film, Harries once again expressed disappointment with ITV for not giving enough backing. In an interview the month before ''The Queen'' was released he criticised the management of ITV for being deeply complacent and arrogant, and expressed disappointment that drama on the channel was not as good as it once was. At the end of the year he announced that he would not be renewing his contract with the company. Entertainment industry commentators suggested that he would set up his own independent production company.


Left Bank Pictures (2007–present)

Rumours that he would start his own company, possibly with Caroline Aherne, had circulated since the 1990s. The predictions came to fruition in May 2007 when Harries announced the formation of Left Bank Pictures, which
BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
immediately took a 25% share in. Left Bank was the first British production house to receive investment from BBC Worldwide, and there was some concern that there was a conflict of interest for the publicly funded BBC; in ''The Guardian'', Steve Hewlett wrote that the deal was a "back-door way of getting around the rules preventing the BBC producing programmes for its British rivals". Hewlett also commented that the investment might limit Left Bank's future prospects, as it was "tied to" the BBC. At Left Bank, Harries proposed to produce two features films per year, as well as several television series. The company's first television commission is ''
Wallander Wallander may refer to: TV, film, books * Kurt Wallander, a fictional Swedish police inspector in novels by Henning Mankell :*Wallander (film series), ''Wallander'' (film series), Swedish-language television films of the Wallander stories starring ...
'', a three-part series based on Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander novels. The series was made in association with Swedish company Yellow Bird for the BBC.Thomas, Liz (6 February 2008)
Creative Godfather
. ''Broadcast'' (Emap Media): pp. 27–28.
It was broadcast in November and December 2008, and a second series followed in 2010. In 2009, Left Bank's first feature film, '' The Damned United'' (adapted by Peter Morgan from the David Peace
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
) was released.Dawtrey, Adam (24 April 2008).
Sony scores 'Damned United'
. ''Variety'' (Reed Business Information).
Also broadcast in 2009 was the comedy series '' School of Comedy'' and the crime drama '' Father & Son''.Parker, Robin (12 September 2008).
E4 opens School of Comedy
. ''Broadcast'' (Emap Media).
Comedy drama series '' Married Single Other'' was filmed for ITV and was broadcast in 2010. Harries executive produced the third part of Peter Morgan's "Blair trilogy", '' The Special Relationship'', for HBO Films and
BBC Films BBC Film (formerly BBC Films) is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It was founded on 18 June 1990, and has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including ''Truly, Madly, Deeply (film), Truly, ...
. It was first broadcast on the HBO networks in the United States in May 2010. On 23 August 2012,
Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...
acquired a majority stake in Left Bank. In 2017, Left Bank produced '' The Replacement'' for BBC One which went on to win Best Television Scripted at BAFTA Scotland.
The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
is Left Bank's biggest project to date, the first American-British television series produced exclusively for
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
. The series has received wide critical acclaim, awards include; Golden Globes for Best Television Series (Drama) and Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Drama), Screen Actor's Guild Award for Claire Foy, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series in both 2017 and 2018 and an Primetime Emmy Award for John Lithgow, Outstanding Supporting Actor – Drama Series. Left Bank's fourth feature film '' Dark River'' was released on 23 February 2018. Written and directed by Clio Barnard, it stars Ruth Wilson, Mark Stanley, and Sean Bean. It screened in the Platform section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Left Bank Pictures has won various industry awards, including Best Independent Production Company at the Edinburgh TV Awards (2017) and Broadcast Awards (2018).


Honours and awards

Left Bank's inception lead to Harries being listed in ''The Guardian''s Media Top 100, making his entry at number 66.Staff (9 July 2007).
66. Andy Harries
. ''The Guardian'' (Guardian News & Media): p. 63 (''Media Top 100'' supplement).
At the end of the year he was listed in ''
Broadcast Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...
''s Top 100 Producers, being described as "one of the UK's most outstanding drama producers".Staff (19 December 2007).
Hot 100 Producers
. ''Broadcast'' (Emap Media).
In May 2007, the
British Academy of Film and Television Arts The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
awarded him the Special Award in Honour of Alan Clarke. In December 2009, the ''Radio Times'' ranked him at number six in their "Faces of 2010" feature, a compilation of "the biggest names and the coming stars in the year ahead".Multiple contributors (2–8 January 2010). "10 For 2010". ''Radio Times'' (BBC Magazines): p. 16. In ''Broadcast''s Top 100 for 2010, Harries was ranked at number two in the executive producers category. He received an Academy Award nomination as producer of The Queen which saw a run of six Academy Award nominations with Helen Mirren memorably winning Best Actress. The
Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
conferred a Fellowship on Harries on 23 May 2011 for outstanding contributions to the broadcasting industry.RTS Awards Fellowships
". 4rfv.co.uk. 17 January 2011. Retrieved on 17 January 2011.
Harries was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(OBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to film and television.


Personal life

Harries has been married to writer and director Rebecca Frayn since July 1992. The couple have three children; identical twins Jack and Finn born in 1993, and Emmy Lou. After producing a ''South Bank Show'' profile and ''The Ghosts of Oxford Street'', Harries remained good friends with Malcolm McLaren, and spoke at his funeral in April 2010.


Filmography


References


External links


Andy Harries
at the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harries, Andy 1954 births Alumni of the University of Hull Anglo-Scots British chief executives British film production company founders British television producers British television company founders Businesspeople from Cambridgeshire Chief executives in the mass media industry Filmmakers who won the Best Film BAFTA Award ITV people Living people Mass media people from Northamptonshire Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Oakham School People from Inverness People from Peterborough Sony Pictures Television employees