Fox Adds Two to Unscripted Team

Fox bolstered its alternative entertainment team on Tuesday with a trio of executive announcements.

Lisa Levenson and Alex Piper were named senior VP and VP of alternative entertainment, respectively, while Amy Cohen was upped to executive director of alternative entertainment, having been with the unscripted team since 2005.

The announcement was made by Simon Andreae, a little more than two months after he was tapped to head the reality division. The former Discovery executive succeeded Mike Darnell, who left the company after 18 years in May 2013 to head Warner Bros. TV's unscripted and alternative unit.

Both Levenson and Piper will report to Andreae. The duo will oversee the day-to-day workings of Fox's current unscripted programming and help develop the company's new unscripted offerings. 

"Lisa and Alex come to us with strong backgrounds, both as showrunners and as senior production company executives. As such, each is perfectly equipped not only to support our current unscripted slate, but also to help shape the next generation of hit FOX shows. We’re truly delighted to have them join," said Andreae.

Levenson joins Fox from Cineflix Productions, where she served as executive VP of development, working on unscripted series such as ABC's The Bachelor and The Bachelorette and CBS' Big Brother.

Piper previously held the post of senior VP of alternative television at Asylum Entertainment, where he executive produced shows such as Fox Sports 1's Being Mike Tyson, WE tv's The Locator and TLC's Addicted.

Cohen helped launch Masterchef and Masterchef Junior. She also had a hand in overseeing the net's American Idol, Hell's Kitchen and The X Factor.

Jessika Walsten

Jessika is an analyst for TVREV and Fabric Media. She previously served in various roles at Broadcasting + Cable, Multichannel News and NextTV, working with the brands since 2013. A graduate of USC Annenberg, Jessika has edited and reported on a variety of subjects in the media and entertainment space, including profiles on industry leaders and breaking news.