Bosses At Sandpaper Films, Production Outfit Behind Upcoming Taylor Swift Doc, Set Out Vision To Do “New York Post On The Outside, New York Times On The Inside”

EXCLUSIVE: “We have always said we want to do New York Post on the outside, New York Times on the inside.”

That is the company vision laid down by Susannah Price, the head of documentary producer Sandpaper Films, which has explored recent subjects including Taylor Swift, Andrew Tate and Karen Read. Last week, its Netflix feature A Deadly American Marriage was named the streamer’s most-watched unscripted movie of 2025 so far with 32.3 million views.

Price and her Sandpaper co-founder Henry Singer were speaking to Deadline as the Channel 4 documentary on global superstar Swift was announced. From the day of Sandpaper’s launch five years back, Price and Singer said they would approach popular subjects with an investigative touch, hence the comparison to the two contrasting New York publications.

“We have a strand of smart documentaries about famous people that are analytical, truly independent, not made with the celebrity, and not biopics,” said Price. “We are trying to say something about how they fit into society in a bigger world and with Taylor it was impossible to ignore how she had become this megastar at the beginning of the Eras Tour. Channel 4 were instrumental in coming to us and saying, ‘We think you could do something really original on this that is clever and thoughtful’.”

The Sandpaper bosses stress the two-parter’s independence but also reiterate that the doc directed by Our Falklands War helmer Guy King is “not a takedown,” instead exploring Swift’s enduring legacy and relationship with fans. There are some celebrity contributors – Paul McCartney was asked but sadly couldn’t find the time – but ‘Swifties’ also play a key role in the doc.

“Her legacy works on different levels,” added Price. “She’s done incredible things for artists by standing up to her former record label but for me the most important is what she’s done for young women and girls. I didn’t know much about her before but this is an incredible story about how someone can break the glass ceiling.”

While the Channel 4 doc will likely not get the “huge audience” of Netflix’s Taylor Swift feature Miss Americana, Singer said “what I am proud of is that it will be journalistic, independent, reflective and intelligent in a way that is unusual.”

After 2020’s Miss Americana, there were a spate of high-profile Netflix documentaries about stars who were also involved behind the camera, featuring the likes of David Beckham, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Pamela Anderson, which have been deemed controversial by some due to fears over editorial meddling from their subjects.

Singer says he “gets a little concerned about editorial control” but thinks projects like this “can be pulled off” if the subject is willing to be open and fragile. To her mind, Price would be happy to tackle such an access doc with a music superstar like Kate Bush or Harry Styles.

For now, the team is in production on an untitled Netflix series about Karen Read, whose boyfriend was found dead and who was charged over his murder yet always insisted she was framed as part of a conspiracy by civilians and law enforcement to protect the real killers.

Last month, Read was found not guilty of murder, and Price said “kudos to the team and to Netflix for holding our nerve” while other docs about the case came out prior to the verdict. Being patient with the launch means that Read’s story can now be told in its entirety via the Netflix-Sandpaper doc.

“We will come last but we will have access to people who’ve never spoken and I think it will be the definitive series on the subject,” added Price. “This is another lesson in putting in the time, work and original journalism.”

Singer speaks to Deadline from New York, where he is working on the Read doc. “This is a huge story in the U.S. and she has a massive following,” he added. “It’s an incredibly exciting wave to be riding. It’s not quite OJ [Simpson] but it is massive.”

‘A Deadly American Marriage’

Netflix was similarly patient with A Deadly American Marriagewhich Singer said has “put us on the map a bit” in the States and which took around three years to make including a lengthy pause while a new trial was set up. The film tells the story of Jason Corbett, an Irish man who was killed at his home in North Carolina in 2015.

After the success of A Deadly American Marriage, the Sandpaper bosses have now joined an elite club of trusted Netflix documentary suppliers in the UK, which has led “other streamers to reach out,” according to Singer. The show peppered global top 10s and has just been named Netflix’s most-watched unscripted movie of 2025 so far.

Having stressed a penchant for taking their time over big projects, Sandpaper also tries to keep a finger on the societal pulse to nail down topics before they hit the zeitgeist.

This was the case with Doom Scroll: Andrew Tate & The Dark Side of the Internet for Sky, which comfortably preceded Adolescenceallowing the team to “get to grips with the ‘manosphere’” months before the Netflix breakout hit conquered the world.

While a number of Tate docs came out at the same time, Sandpaper “did things differently” by looking beyond Tate, Singer said.

“The villain in that film is social media, not Andrew Tate,” added Price. “The point is that it could have been anyone.” Adolescence is now required viewing for teens in schools, but Price said the team were being asked months earlier whether they could make Doom Scroll available for the curriculum.

The success of the likes of Doom Scroll and A Deadly American Marriage have contributed to Sandpaper expanding at a time of industry contraction. Deadline can reveal Sandpaper has hired ex-Sky Studios development boss Jonathan Parker as Director of Development and Hospital production manager Jo Taylor as Head of Production.

The hope is that Parker can help Sandpaper expand relationships with the other streaming services, while bringing “a really premium sensibility, which is key to our brand,” Price said. Taylor, meanwhile, is part of Sandpaper’s desire to “up our game for growth.” “She’s helping us move on from being a start-up to becoming bigger and a bit more solid and organized.”

Price rejected the notion Sandpaper is fattening up for a sale or third party investment, however.

“We are in a great place as we are,” she added. “We’ve rowed the industry downturn. It feels like things are picking up.”