Film firm IM Global taps former Syfy boss for TV

US film financier IM Global is launching a TV division and has recruited Mark Stern, the former president of original content at Syfy, to run the unit.

Stern will be based in LA and report to IM Global boss Stuart Ford. IM Global is owned by Indian conglomerate Reliance, which has made several media investments.

Stern left Syfy late last year after eleven years at the US cable net.

The formal creation of an IM Global TV division comes after it announced its first TV series earlier this month. It will be a partner on eight-part crime thriller set in Liverpool, The Killing Pool, based on the Kevin Sampson book series of the same name.

No broadcast partner has been announced, but production on the The Kiling Pool is slated to start in 2015 and the project will take advantage of the UK tax break for high-end drama. Red Union Films and Pinewood Pictures are the other production partners.

News of the new TV production and distribution company was broken by the Deadline Hollywood website.