Cinema Vault Studio
Cinema Vault Studio
Born for the lens. Built for the vault.
Flagship production

PHOENIX

The pilot rises ↓
An original British action-thriller

The system failed.
PHOENIX rises.

A feature-length pilot launching a planned ongoing series about the people entrusted with extraordinary power, and the human cost of using it.

Inspired by a British television legacy. Built as original IP. In the aftermath of the 2018 Blackout Catastrophe, Ros Shaw, Beckett Shaw and Ed Mitchell present the Phoenix Programme to Hilary Merrick and senior officials at the Cabinet Office. Hilary approves it in principle, with a formal charter, legal safeguards and operational limits to follow. Eight years later, Phoenix Division brings Daniel Kavanagh, the architect of the collapse, to justice. His trial exposes a personal cost within the division and a threat that reaches beyond the man in the dock.
FormatFeature-length television pilot
WorldNear-future Britain
FuturePlanned ongoing series
Inside the world of PHOENIX

A glimpse of the division.

The dark uniform, embroidered insignia and Ros Shaw's place within the organisation begin to give PHOENIX its own screen identity.

Close-up concept image of a Phoenix Division agent in a dark uniform with an embroidered shoulder patch
Phoenix Division agentUniform concept
Concept image of Ros Shaw's dark uniform, gold insignia and R. Shaw nameplate
Ros ShawCharacter concept

Development artwork illustrating the intended visual direction. Final costumes, sets and on-screen appearances may differ.

A clear route to audiences

Built for the screen.
Planned for a wider audience.

The completed pilot is intended for an independent Prime Video release, initially through rental or purchase, with wider Prime availability pursued where appropriate. We are also exploring a purchase release through the Apple TV Store with an approved distribution partner.

Intended releasePrime Video
ExploringApple TVPotential purchase listing in the Apple TV app. No Apple agreement or endorsement.
Independent release plan. Publication and availability are subject to each platform's review and acceptance.
The faces of PHOENIX

Recognisable talent.
A new division.

Established British screen pedigree meets a contemporary international cast, giving the pilot an immediate identity for audiences, press and commercial partners.

BBC’s BUGS legacy meets contemporary streaming recognition, including Netflix’s Lift and The Diplomat.
Jaye Griffiths
Cast profile

Jaye Griffiths

Ros Shaw · Co-architect of Phoenix Division

Jaye Griffiths has been a commanding presence across British television for nearly four decades. Her screen work includes Bugs, Doctor Who, Silent Witness, Vera, Casualty and The Bill, giving PHOENIX both immediate recognition and the authority of an established dramatic career.

As Ros Shaw, she plays the formidable intelligence at the heart of the division. In 2018, Ros confronts government resistance and helps secure Phoenix’s sovereign charter after the Blackout Catastrophe. Eight years later, the organisation she fought to create must contain Daniel Kavanagh, and Ros must confront the moral weight of its power, the cost of its work and a deeply personal loss that is no longer private.
Craig McLachlan
Cast profile

Craig McLachlan

Ed Mitchell · Founding operational voice

Craig McLachlan is an award-winning actor, musician and performer whose career spans television, film and stage. Known to British audiences for his lead role in the BBC action-thriller Bugs, he brings PHOENIX a rare combination of tactical authority, warmth and emotional directness.

Ed Mitchell is one of the division’s founding operational voices. In the aftermath of the 2018 collapse, he refuses to let twelve thousand deaths become another bureaucratic statistic. In the present day he remains on the frontline: steady under pressure, fiercely protective of the younger officers and alert to the fact that Kavanagh’s containment may be the beginning of a larger threat rather than the end of an old one.

In their own words · Craig McLachlan
Jesse Birdsall
Cast profile

Jesse Birdsall

Director Beckett Shaw · Strategic anchor

Jesse Birdsall is a respected British actor with a substantial career across television, film and theatre. His work is characterised by restraint and controlled authority, with an ability to suggest the history and pressure behind a decision without overplaying it.

Beckett Shaw stands with Ros and Ed at the origin of Phoenix Division and later serves as its director. He is the organisation’s strategic anchor: calm, observant and acutely aware of the political consequences of the power they created. Beneath that discipline sits a private burden shared with Ros, one that Daniel Kavanagh deliberately brings into the light at the end of the pilot.

In their own words · Jesse Birdsall
Martina Avogadri
Cast profile

Martina Avogadri

Jade Wilson · The next generation

Martina Avogadri is a London-based actress and model with international screen experience. Trained at Milan’s Paolo Grassi Drama School, her credits include the Netflix feature Lift and the political drama The Diplomat. She brings a contemporary international presence and an emotionally grounded performance style to PHOENIX.

Jade Wilson represents the new generation of Phoenix operatives. Working alongside Ed Mitchell and Jamie Nash, she combines modern investigative capability with frontline discipline. Escorting Kavanagh into the tribunal forces her to confront the reality behind the uniform: the scale of the lives lost, the responsibility carried by the division and the personal toll of protecting the state.

In their own words · Martina Avogadri
Paula Hunt
Cast profile

Paula Hunt

Alex Mitchell · Assistant Director

Paula Hunt returns to the world of British action drama with PHOENIX. Viewers of the BBC series Bugs will remember her as Alex Jordan. Her screen credits also include The Bill, Peak Practice and EastEnders.

In PHOENIX, she plays Alex Mitchell, the division’s Assistant Director and a central figure in its present-day leadership. Working alongside Director Beckett Shaw and Ros Shaw, Alex weighs the operational and political consequences when Daniel Kavanagh is brought into custody. Her measured judgment and relationship with Ed Mitchell give the division’s decisions a personal stake as its authority is tested.

In their own words · Paula Hunt
Composer C.K. Martin
The sound of PHOENIX

A world this distinctive needs its own musical identity.

Composer C.K. Martin is attached to create original music for the PHOENIX pilot and its future world. The score is being approached as part of the storytelling from the outset: modern and atmospheric, but always rooted in character, consequence and the tension beneath the action.

His work across screen, games and international brand campaigns brings a cinematic scale that can move naturally between the 2018 catastrophe, the controlled machinery of Phoenix headquarters and the private human cost carried by the team.

AtmosphereNear-future tension without science-fiction cliché.
CharacterEmotional themes shaped around the people inside the division.
IdentityA recognisable sonic world capable of growing with the series.
From first look to first episode

A production with visible momentum.

Production roadmap

Q4 First-Look Shoot

The first step is to show PHOENIX as a screen world, with its cast in character. Photography, short filmed moments and idents will establish the visual identity of the division and give audiences an early feel for its tone.

The resulting stills and teaser material are intended for the studio's campaign, press conversations and partnership presentations. This stage also creates a practical foundation for the larger pilot shoot, with cast, wardrobe and the visual approach tested together on camera.
Production roadmap

The Pilot

The feature-length pilot is designed as the opening chapter of a continuing British action thriller. It moves between the 2018 Blackout Catastrophe, the decisions that shape the Phoenix Programme and the consequences faced by its people years later.

Production is being planned in manageable phases, with performance-led scenes and carefully chosen physical locations or set elements supported by screen-based environments where they serve the story. Editing, original music, sound and visual finishing will bring those pieces together as a complete pilot.
Production roadmap

The Audience

The aim is to take the finished pilot directly to viewers through independent release routes. Prime Video is the intended first route. We are exploring an additional Apple TV Store purchase release through an approved distribution partner. Both routes depend on acceptance, and the pilot is intended to demonstrate the potential for a continuing series.

Cast photography, a trailer, press activity and social promotion will introduce PHOENIX beyond the existing Bugs audience. Selected commercial partnerships can become part of that campaign and, where appropriate, the world on screen.
Commercial partnerships

Become part of the world of PHOENIX.

We are developing a small number of relationships with brands whose products, technology and services can sit naturally within the promotional campaign, the pilot and the potential continuing series.

Commercial partnerships

A place in the world of PHOENIX

We are looking for partnerships that suit the story and give a brand something worthwhile in return. That might mean campaign content, a product used naturally on screen, or practical support that helps make the pilot possible.

Each opportunity would be shaped around the partner, the production and what can be delivered credibly. The four routes on this page are starting points for a conversation, with scope and terms agreed individually.

Start a conversation →
First look

Cinematic promotional content

Join the first-look campaign as PHOENIX begins to take shape on screen. Cast-in-character photography, teaser footage and short idents are being planned to introduce the cast, tone and visual world of the project.

A suitable partner could be included in agreed campaign material or collaborate on a piece of content that fits its own audience. The creative treatment, usage and any brand presence would be agreed before production.

Discuss first-look content →
On screen

Editorial product placement

Products can belong in the world of PHOENIX when they feel right for the characters and their work. Wardrobe, equipment, vehicles and technology are possible areas to explore, depending on the scene and the needs of production.

Placement would be planned with the creative team so that it supports the story. The appearance, prominence and any associated promotional use would be specified in an individual agreement.

Discuss placement →
Behind the scenes

Production support

Support does not have to appear in the finished episode to make a visible difference. Locations, facilities, wardrobe, equipment, transport and specialist services can all help move the first-look shoot and pilot forward.

We would agree what the production needs, what the partner can provide and how that contribution could be acknowledged in appropriate project or campaign material. Cash sponsorship can also be discussed where it suits the partner's objectives.

Discuss support →
Beyond the pilot

A longer relationship

The pilot is an opening chapter, with a wider series in development. For the right brand, an initial collaboration could grow into a recurring association with the project as its audience and production expand.

Any future involvement would depend on the series moving forward and would be agreed separately. The starting point is a useful, well-matched partnership for the work being made now.

Discuss the possibilities →
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