Jennifer O’Connell


HBO Max strikes overall deal with Lisa Ling, greenlights travel series

HBO Max has greenlit travel series Birth, Wedding, Funeral as part of an overall deal with US presenter Lisa Ling. Each episode of the series will immerse viewers in a different country to reveal their cultures through the lens of birth, wedding and funeral rituals. Ling currently presents CNN Original series This Is Life With […]

HBO Max sets out non-fiction originals team

HBO Max has bolstered its original non-fiction team with execs from CNN, Karga Seven and Pulse Creative.  The service has hired Lizzie Fox as SVP of non-fiction programming, while Rebecca Quinn has been made VP of non-fiction original programming. Both execs will report into former Lionsgate exec Jennifer O’Connell, who joined as EVP of original […]

WarnerMedia assembles content team for HBO Max

WarnerMedia is assembling the content team behind its fledgling service HBO Max.  The business has appointed TNT exec Sarah Aubrey, the exec who greenlit such series as Claws, Animal Kingdom and Good Behavior, as head of original content for the original programming division. She will report into HBO Max chief content officer Kevin Reilly. Set […]

Lionsgate’s O’Connell lands at WarnerMedia

Lionsgate’s Jennifer O’Connell has landed at WarnerMedia, where she will serve as EVP of original non-fiction and kids programming for the business’s new streaming service. The appointment comes on the heels of O’Connell’s departure from Lionsgate, where she most recently served as EVP of alternative programming, overseeing a slate that includes Kevin Hart: What the […]

Jennifer O’Connell exits Lionsgate, replaced by Starz exec

Jennifer O’Connell has departed Lionsgate after less than four years. The EVP of alternative programming has exited the business, and is expected to join a streaming platform in a senior unscripted role. O’Connell – who joined Lionsgate after almost three years as head of television at Core Media Group – exits just months after the […]

Gameshow veteran forms JV with Lionsgate

Prolific gameshow producer Jeff Apploff and Lionsgate Entertainment are creating a joint venture to create unscripted programming and formats. Under terms of the agreement, Lionsgate will land exclusive rights to TV programming from Apploff Entertainment. Apploff, who runs his company as president and CEO, has created formats such as Fox’s Don’t Forget the Lyrics! (in […]

Ex-Eyeworks, Shine exec joins Lionsgate

Former Eyeworks and Shine International sales exec Ted Bookstaver has joined US studio Lionsgate Television. He will take up the newly-created post of senior VP, alternative programming sales. In the role, he will oversee global sales of Lionsgate’s slate of alternative (unscripted) shows. Lionsgate’s executive VP, alternative programming Jennifer O’Connell, who joined last year after […]

Spike, Lionsgate team with Christina Aguilera

US channel Spike, producer Lionsgate Television and singer Christina Aguilera are working up a music-themed game show. Tracks, which Mission Control Media (Hollywood Game Night) and Aguilera’s MX Productions are producing in association with Lionsgate, will debut as a half-hour special on Viacom Media Networks-owned Spike later this year. The format will see teams of […]

Lionsgate buys stake in Wicked Tuna indie

Lionsgate Entertainment is buying into Wicked Tuna producer Pilgrim Studios. The “strategic investment” means Pilgrim now has financial backing from the Hunger Games and Mad Men studio, which this week welcomed Liberty Global and Discovery Communications as shareholders. The deal is thought to be worth US$200 million and believed to hand Lionsgate more than 50% […]

Ex-Core US TV chief lands Lionsgate role

Jennifer O’Connell (pictured) has landed a new alternative programming post at Lionsgate Entertainment, just weeks after she exited Core Media Group. At the US studio, she takes the newly-created role of executive VP, alternative programming, having been head of US television at Core until last month. She will now oversee development and production of Lionsgate’s […]