Bibas is replacing Canal+ drama head Fabrice de la Patellière, who is shifting to a production role at Canal+ subsidiary StudioCanal.
Veteran French producer Olivier Bibas will be the next head of originals at Canal+, taking over responsibility for both drama and international co-productions at the Vivendi-owned French pay-TV major.
He will report to Gérald-Brice Viret, Managing Director, French TV Channels and Programs at Canal+ Group.
Bibas began his career in 1995 at Canal+ before joining the Lagardère Group in 2004. Since then, he has been Executive Producer and Managing Director at Atlantique Productions, which was acquired by Mediawan in 2020, working on titles including The Eddy and The Transporter.
Fabrice de la Patellière, who has held the position of Head of Drama at Canal+ since 2002, will now move into production and partner with Studiocanal, under the direction of Anna Marsh, to develop French and international series, for both broadcast television and platforms.
Patellière first launched Creation Originale for Canal+ 15 years ago with Arielle Saracco.
Gérald-Brice Viret said: “I am delighted that Olivier Bibas will soon join the Canal+ Group. His vision, recognised expertise and talent will be invaluable in proposing new major series with worldwide appeal. On behalf of the Group, I wish him the greatest success in this role.”
He recently completed shooting on the Sky/Canal+ Spaghetti Western series Django, starring Matthias Schoenaerts and Noomi Rapace.
