Schechter launches New York prodco

Paranormal State producer Betsy Schechter has launched her own production company with a slate of projects for US cable channels.

Schechter (left) – who was previously co-president of Picture Shack Entertainment (Abandoned, Staten Island Law) and is a 20-year production veteran – is president of Storyville Entertainment.

She has hired National Geographic Television’s Caroline Christopher to oversee her development team as VP, development and production. Christopher will report to Schechter.

Storyville already has the greenlight to produce a music-themed documentary series for MTV’s international business and is developing scripted and non-scripted projects for A&E, TNT, H2, MTV, Animal Planet and National Geographic.

Additionally, Schechter, who is best known for producing A&E’s unscripted series Paranormal State, is also working with Paranormal Activity movie franchise creator Jason Blum on a scripted series.

“Storyville serves as a hub for creativity regardless of the genre and platform, everything from non-fiction to scripted to digital to reality,” said Schechter. “What matters most and what will define our projects is that at the core are solid characters and great storytelling with a distinct point of view.”