Lionsgate reveals new unscripted unit following eOne deal

Selling Sunset (Source: Netflix)

Lionsgate is creating a new unscripted division that will house Pilgrim Media Group and the factual units from recently acquired Entertainment One.

Pilgrim CEO Craig Piligian will serve as managing director of Lionsgate Alternative Television, which will harness significant factual firepower with the addition of eOne’s US and UK non-scripted studios, Blackfin, Renegade and Daisybeck.

The combined entity includes firms behind unscripted franchises such as Naked And Afraid, Street Outlaws, Wicked Tuna, The Yorkshire Vet, Ex On The Beach, Selling Sunset and MILF Manor, as well as limited series like Killer Inside: The Mind Of Aaron Hernandez and Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre.

Lionsgate said that the market-facing development labels of each company will remain intact, with most of the production, post-production and backroom operations integrating to work as one.

Pilgrim Media Group’s president & COO Gretchen Stockdale and chief current officer & GM Nicholas Caprio will join the management team, reporting into Piligian, alongside Renegade’s David Garfinkle and Jay Renfroe, who will serve as senior executives.

Reporting into the management team, Lionsgate Alternative Television’s labels will be overseen by creative officers Tom Huffman for Pilgrim, Bob Kusbit for Renegade, Geno McDermott for Blackfin, Matt Pritchard, Matt Walton and Malcolm Gerrie for eOne UK and Paul Stead for Daisybeck, with former History Channel leader and Half Yard Productions CEO Dirk Hoogstra joining Lionsgate to lead the eOne US label. Lionsgate Alternative Television will also collaborate with the eOne Canada team, led by Jocelyn Hamilton.

“The launch of Lionsgate Alternative Television marks another key milestone in the expansion of our global television footprint,” said Lionsgate Television Group chairman and CCO Kevin Beggs. “As a major force in the non-scripted programming world, Craig is the perfect executive to take our unscripted operations to the next level.”

Lionsgate completed its $375m acquisition of Peppa Pig & Yellowjackets firm eOne a week ago, with the US studio Lionsgate taking control of a 6,500-hour content library, also including scripted shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds and Designated Survivor, as well as the TV and film divisions that have been behind series like Yellowjackets and The Rookie.