Mark Herbert and Niall Shamma reflect on the whirlwind behind Adolescence – and the momentum reshaping Sheffield’s creative scene.
Pop into Fagan’s on an evening and there’s every chance you’ll spot something intriguing. A who’s who of Sheffield music royalty can often be found frequenting the small backstreet boozer. Recently, major touring bands from Kneecap to The Hives have been seen plotting up in the snug. Stick around long enough on a Saturday session and you’ll almost certainly run into some local creative of note – a poet, podcaster, artist or producer. It’s not as much a pub as it is a cultural magnet for interesting folk doing interesting things.
But even the most seasoned regulars might’ve done a double-take last month, nipping in for a swifty and clocking a shiny Golden Globe perched proudly among the pints of Guinness settling at the bar. That particular day, the Warp team were in town celebrating their haul of awards at the glitzy LA ceremony, a night that saw them rubbing shoulders with some of Hollywood’s finest.
“It’s weird,” says Warp Films founder Mark Herbert, reflecting on a surreal beginning to 2026. “It felt like the year had barely started and suddenly I was on my way to LA, and it was just a bit mad… some real pinch-yourself moments. The Emmys were amazing too.”
You can hear the pride in Mark’s typically down-to-earth South Yorkshire delivery, but the reality of the past year’s success – four Golden Globes, eight Emmys and a global critical blow-up – had to sink in quickly. After raising a few well-earned glasses on Broad Lane, the team were already shifting gears because, as chief operating officer Niall Shamma explains, there’s now an unmissable opportunity to build on the momentum and strike while the iron is hot.
“With anything in the creative industries, it’s always about the next thing. You want to take advantage of the buzz and the profile, enjoy the awards ceremonies. People might take your calls and answer emails quicker, but you have to do something with that.”
“I could just fill the year going to festivals and awards ceremonies and talking about Adolescence,” adds Mark. “But the truth of the matter is, it’s all about what we follow it up with now. Luckily, we’ve got some great projects on the slate – and we’re getting a lot of interest. So, we’re on it. We’re really busy.”
Warp may now be seen differently because of one runaway hit, but a cursory glance and you’ll see that their track record runs deep: Dead Man’s Shoes, This Is England, Tyrannosaur, Four Lions, ’71, and many more. 2025’s other TV release, Reunion, may have flown slightly under the radar due to the success of its peer, but it was roundly praised for its compelling writing, strong performances and innovative approach to sound design. “It’s not a flash in the pan,” says Niall. “People can look back at 20 years of work. What is really important is that we stay true to how we work, the stories we tell.”
Based out of offices in the city’s brutalist monolith Park Hill, it always been a proudly Sheffield-rooted operation. They’ve resisted the industry’s gravitational pull towards London and now sit within a growing cluster of nationally significant creative producers telling stories in the city. Persephonica, one of the UK’s biggest podcast production outfits, relocated to Leah’s Yard in 2024. Theatre exports Standing at the Sky’s Edge and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (later adapted for film by Warp) recently enjoyed stints at the West End. Long-running fixtures such as DocFest, Tramlines and Off the Shelf continue to pack a weighty cultural punch.
“They’re all connected. You get ideas from documentaries, from podcasts, from musicians – and a network builds,” says Niall. “Someone said to me last week: Sheffield is having a moment. I’m not sure everyone believes that. But if you know, you know. The key is how we take things forward.”
Mark builds on that point: “Not everything we make is set in Sheffield – though it’s great when it is. What matters is that it’s produced from Sheffield. Whether it’s something set on the moon or written in Scandinavia, it’s about having world-leading production companies based here. What we’ve got now are companies and creatives that can be world-leading. It used to be that top northern talent would end up working for companies in London, but that’s changing now.”
There’s still work to do, though, especially when it comes to funding and recognition. “Sheffield and South Yorkshire always have to fight for their share,” says Niall. “Whether it’s Arts Council funding or the government’s creative strategies. We’ve always been an underdog.”
It’s a characterisation often applied to the city – from its football clubs to its music scene – and a mindset that both admit can serve as a strength and a limitation.
“But I don’t think we shout about ourselves enough,” he continues. “So maybe it’s now time we start being a bit more bullish and taking those risks.”
On the topic of taking risks, the one-shot format of Adolescence posed massive technical challenges – and meant that once the camera started rolling, the whole team had to be on their A-game all day, every day.
“If one person got something wrong – whether it was an actor, a runner, an extra or someone cueing an extra – the whole thing fell apart,” says Mark. “You had to start again. No edits to save you. No reshoots.”
Niall calls it “more like theatre than television.” When I mention the democratising element of an extra holding the same level of responsibility in a scene as Stephen Graham, Mark lets out a short, appreciative laugh. “Yes! That’s exactly it – and it’s great.”
It nods to a sense of shared ownership that is embedded in Warp’s culture. “We’ve got this thing we say internally,” says Niall: “Earn it. Share it. Enjoy it.”
For all their recent success, both seem just as excited about what the win can unlock for others. Social mobility in the film and TV world remains a huge barrier – and Warp are trying to lead by example, recently announcing a paid internship scheme designed to give people from South Yorkshire a route into the industry.
“We were determined to do a paid internship scheme,” says Niall. “Living wage. It’s not for people who can afford to work for free – it’s for people who really want to do it. The response has been great. We’re not going to be able to take everyone on, but we’re also giving pointers on how people might get into the industry.”
Mark nods: “I’ve said this before – but I know it can feel so alien, like you need to have a parent in the industry. I don’t have a rich parent; I was born in Doncaster and went to comp school. Hopefully, some people look at us now and think, ‘Alright, maybe if he can do it, I can too.’ That’s the real result I want from this recent success.”
Moving back to upcoming releases, one of the most buzzed-about projects in South Yorkshire right now is their reboot of Threads, the harrowing Cold War-era drama first released in 1984 that’s become part of local folklore. I raise it hopefully, but Mark is quick to set expectations.
“We’re not filming it for at least two or three years. It’s not written yet. We have assembled an amazing creative team – can’t say who yet – and we’re heading into about a year of development and writing. We’ve got a vision for it, but it’ll take time.”
Plenty of other projects are brewing too, but remain under wraps for now. “We’ll be in production on a couple of exciting things later this year,” Niall confirms. “Announcements on those will come in due course.”
That patience is part of the long-game thinking required for an independent production company heading into its 25th year. “Before we shot Adolescence, we’d been working on it for two and a half years,” says Mark. “Some projects are four or five. That’s the scale we’re on.”
I know it can feel so alien, like you need to have a parent in the industry… Hopefully, some people look at us now and think, ‘Alright, maybe if he can do it, I can too.’ That’s the real result I want from this recent success.
Since pathways and taking chances are something of a recurring theme in the conversation, I begin to round up the interview by asking for a direct message to young people in South Yorkshire dreaming of working in film or TV.
“There are organisations out there genuinely trying to help people get into film and TV,” notes Niall. “Alongside internship schemes, there’s ScreenSkills, for example – they take a levy from productions and put it back into training. There are trainee pathways and great information about all the different jobs on a film or TV set, including roles people might not even know exist.”
“Get your foot in the door doing anything,” adds Mark. “Don’t wait for the perfect job. Don’t pigeonhole yourself. If you’ve got a chance to get on set, take it. There were over 200 people who worked on Adolescence, and every role matters. When I was first working with Film Four, the guy who directed the new Peaky Blinders film, Tom Harper, was the assistant to the boss and made teas for me and Shane [Meadows] when we went in. He’s now just directed one of the biggest films of the year.”
And above all?
“Use what you’ve got,” says Niall. “Almost everyone has a camera in their pocket these days, so you can start filming and post it online. Be creative. Make stuff – don’t wait for permission.
