Former Discovery+ Docs Chief Igal Svet Joins Lionsgate’s Blackfin

Peter White
·1 min read

EXCLUSIVE: Blackfin, the Lionsgate-backed production company behind series including Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez, has a new Head of Documentaries.

Igal Svet, who was previously head of documentaries at Discovery+ has joined in the role as well as EVP.

More from Deadline

Reporting to Chief Creative Officer Geno McDermott, Svet joins after nearly three years as Head of Documentaries at Discovery+, a position he left in March 2023. In that role, he helped launch a slate of docs including Trump: Unprecedented, House of Hammer, Curse of the Chippendales, Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed, and Queen of Meth as well as acquisitions such as Introducing Selma Blair.

Before joining Discovery in 2019, initially as VP, Production and Development, Svet spent five years at Nat Geo, where he worked on docs such as LA92, Jane, Mars, Story of God with Morgan Freeman, and One Strange Rock.

Lionsgate Alternative Television’s Blackfin, which was formerly part of eOne, is also behind the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons 50th anniversary documentary and Andrea Bocelli doc Because I Believe. It also produced The Icons That Built America for History and Hulu’s Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre.

“Under Geno’s leadership, Blackfin has become a key player in premium documentaries as the producer of the acclaimed limited series Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez,” said Craig Piligian, Managing Director, Lionsgate Alternative Television. “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.”

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.