RSA Films has added director Kate Herron to its roster for global commercial representation. Herron is one of television’s most exciting talents, recently directing and executive producing season one of Loki (Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson) which holds the distinction of being Marvel’s most watched show on the Disney+ platform. Joining RSA marks her first career commercial representation.
Prior to Loki–which Herron spent three years working on in Atlanta–she directed the second half of season one of Netflix’s Sex Education, the critically acclaimed British teen sex comedy whose ensemble cast includes Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa and Emma Mackey. Herron’s first project in television was directing every episode of Five by Five–five intertwining short films for BBC/Green Door Pictures–which starred and were executive produced by Idris Elba.
“I was drawn to Kate’s work on Sex Education and Loki and think she has a wonderful way of depicting flawed and complicated characters in comedic ways,” said Luke Ricci, president of RSA Films US. “Kate translates universal human truths in an entertaining and accessible way from the throes of high school adolescent turmoil to the spectacular Marvel Cinematic Universe. I think her distinctive voice as a storyteller, and meticulous attention to detail whatever the genre, will bring exciting possibilities in our industry.”
Herron said, “I am absolutely thrilled to join RSA, not only because I now might get my Alien DVD signed but also to join forces with a company I greatly admire. The commercials world is a brilliant playground to really push myself as a filmmaker and I can’t think of a better team to do that with. I am extremely excited for the road ahead.”
Herron has been recognized by Variety’s 2021 Producers Impact Report and featured in Forbes’ prestigious 30 Under 30. After graduating from England’s University for the Creative Arts, she cut her teeth on the indie film circuit, writing and directing comedy shorts. Her work has been featured by Vimeo Staff Picks and Comedy Central. The British Film Institute also did a retrospective of her shorts in 2016 as part of Underwire Film Festival.
As a writer, Herron co-wrote an upcoming episode of Doctor Who in 2022 with Briony Redman, whom she collaborated with previously on a range of projects, including Herron’s acclaimed short film Smear and comic book "The Storkening" for Skybound Entertainment (The Walking Dead). The Doctor Who episode will star Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor. Russell T. Davies is the series showrunner.
Relative to Loki, its head writer Michael Waldron–in an interview that was part of SHOOT’s Road To Emmy Series of feature stories last year–described Herron as essential to the show’s first season success. Waldron recalled, “I was in the room when Kate pitched to Marvel and, like them, was blown away by her presentation,” recalled Waldron. “She and I were speaking the exact same language, both visually and from a story perspective, from the very beginning….She gave us the incredible perspective of fresh eyes at a time when I was just beginning to revise all the scripts, and her keen insights streamlined both the plot and character journeys.”
Waldron also credited Herron with hiring cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw who made invaluable contributions to Loki.
