Lionsgate has inked an overall television deal with producing team David Shumsky and Mark Harris, who will create programming projects through their Ohana Pictures banner. Lionsgate will have exclusive rights to unscripted Ohana projects, as well as first-call on any scripted development.
Set to premiere this year on Fox, Kicking & Screaming is the first series order under this deal. The eight-episode competition series was co-created with Matt Kunitz, who is also under an overall deal with Lionsgate Television.
“Mark and David are spectacular producers, and come to us with a range of bold, fresh concepts to develop and fertile worlds to build,” said Jennifer O’Connell, executive VP, alternative programming, Lionsgate Television. “We are delighted to have this creative duo at Lionsgate Television in an exclusive role, and look to them to help the studio accelerate its momentum and expand further in the unscripted arena.”
Lionsgate is bullish on the TV arena, and unscripted in particular. Its series include Monica The Medium on Freeform; RocketJump: The Show on Hulu and Christina Milian: Turned Up on E!
“We are excited to be cementing our relationship with Lionsgate Television,” said Shumsky and Harris. “The company’s success is tied to its visionary leadership and we look forward to working directly with Jen O’Connell and Brian Tannenbaum, who both have a keen sense of the market and a special knack for working with creatives.”
Shumsky was VP of development for executive producer Kunitz at FremantleMedia North America, with a hand in Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on ABC and Last Comic Standing on NBC, among others.
Prior to partnering with Shumsky in the Ohana Pictures shingle, Harris worked in the film world.
Both are repped by WME.
