Lionsgate’s Blackfin hires Discovery+, Nat Geo alum Igal Svet to head up documentaries

Killer Inside: The Mind Of Aaron Hernandez (Source: Netflix)

Lionsgate-owned Blackfin, the US firm behind Netflix’s Killer Inside: The Mind Of Aaron Hernandez, has hired former Discovery+ documentary chief Igal Svet.

Svet will serve as EVP and head of documentaries at Blackfin, which became part of the Craig Piligian-led Lionsgate Alternative Television house in January, following the Lionsgate’s $375m acquisition of previous owner Entertainment One.

Reporting to chief creative officer Geno McDermott, Svet joins from Discovery+, which he left last month, and where he commissioned and executive produced titles such as Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed, Trump: Unprecedented and Queen Of Meth.

Igal Svet

Prior to joining Discovery in 2019, Svet served as senior director of development at National Geographic, overseeing titles such as Mars, The Story Of God With Morgan Freeman and One Strange Rock.

Before joining Nat Geo, he was VP of development for 2C Media, and prior to that, served as a producer with American Ninja Warrior firm A. Smith & Co. He also held roles at BBC Studios and Reveille.

Blackfin is also behind The Icons That Built America for History Channel, Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre for Hulu and Tiny Creatures for Netflix.

“Igal’s ability to identify compelling stories and best-in-class talent has earned him a reputation as one of the top creative executives in the unscripted space, and we are thrilled for him to join Geno in spearheading Blackfin’s development and production of premium non-scripted series and documentaries,” said Piligian.