Keshet Studios Hires Rebecca Mayer as EVP of Unscripted
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Keshet Studios, the production company behind National Geographic’s “A Small Light,” Apple TV+’s “Echo 3” and NBC’s “La Brea,” is pushing into the world of unscripted television. The studio owned by global producer and distributor Keshet International has appointed Rebecca Mayer as its executive vice president of unscripted and Benjamin Long as VP of unscripted, two newly created roles.
Together Mayer and Long will work to build out a non-scripted slate of entertainment for U.S. broadcast, cable and streaming markets. They will also develop original IP while keeping the door open for these new projects to be distributed internationally. Rebecca will report to Peter Traugott, president of Keshet Studios, and Long will report to Mayer.
Also Read:
‘Echo 3’ Trailer: Raids, Explosions Abound in Intense, Action-Packed Apple TV+ Series (Video)
“We are thrilled to be welcoming Rebecca and Benjamin into the Keshet Studios’ fold,” Traugott said. “As individuals, their extensive development and production experience is impressive, but together as a team their combined creativity and passion make them a dream hire as we look to expand our remit into unscripted.”
Keren Shahar, CEO of Keshet International, added that Mayer and Long’s hiring signifies “the beginning of a new journey” for the studio branch of the company and a return to form for KI as a whole. “We launched as a formats business a decade ago and I am personally very excited to be announcing KI’s expansion into unscripted in the US,” Shahar said.
Prior to joining Keshet Studios, Mayer was EVP of Programming and Development for Banijay Studios North America where she worked on series such as “Temptation Island,” “Don’t” and “Wife Swap.” During that time, she also worked closely with Long, who was director of development. Mayer also worked competition series such as “Bring the Funny,” “Songland” and “The Titan Games” during her time with Universal Television Alternative Studio. Additionally, Mayer served as showrunner and executive producer on docuseries, reality and live series such as “TakePart Live,” “Toddlers and Tiaras” and “FABLife.”
“Ben and I are a strong team with years of experience working together and are both thrilled to join Keshet Studios, Keren, Peter and everyone at Keshet International to take things to the next level,” Mayer said. “We look forward to diving into Keshet’s deep catalog of IP while also generating a diverse slate of original IP, allowing us to capitalize on our extensive relationships, adapt proven formats for the U.S. market and bring fresh ideas to life through strategic partnerships with brands, producers and talent. With Keshet International’s global infrastructure and our affinity for scalable production models, we are excited to develop and produce content that prioritizes collaboration, story, creativity and vision.”
Keshet Studios currently has more than a dozen scripted projects at various stages of development or production. In addition to the aforementioned projects, the production company also worked on Peacock’s “The Calling.” Looking toward the future, Keshet Studios has a TV adaptation of Katelyn Monroe Howes’ “The Awoken” in its pipeline as well as political thriller directed by Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir Ebrahimi.
