Endemol Shine rejigs in North America

Endemol Shine North America (ESNA) has hired a veteran showrunner and development executive to work on its unscripted output as part of a global strategy shift.

Sharon Levy

DJ Nurre becomes executive VP for unscripted original series at Endemol Shine’s North American division with a remit across all unscripted current programming, as well as all pilots and presentations.

Nurre joins from US prodco 3 Ball Entertainment, where he had been for 13 years, most recently as exec VP of programming and development. His credits include Spike shows Bar Rescue and Catch a Contractor, Flying Wild Alaska on Discovery and CNBC’s Adventure Capitalists.

Meanwhile, the company has rejigged its US operations as part of a “new global programming strategy” unveiled by Sharon Levy, ESNA’s president of unscripted and scripted television.

Levy, who joined ESNA late last year, has named Dan Cazzola as VP of international development for unscripted, while Lisa Fahrenholt has been appointed to the same role for scripted output.

Former Shine exec Cazzola most recently worked across global development for Endemol Shine Group, while Fahrenholt was director of North American acquisitions for sales arm Endemol Shine International. Both are based in LA.

Fahrenholt will continue to also oversee finished programme acquisitions and co-financing opportunities for Endemol Shine International, working on US versions of Endemol Shine formats.

Levy, who joined from US network Spike (now known as Paramount Network) in August, said the changes were being made to expand opportunities for ESNA.

“After getting to know my new Endemol Shine colleagues from around the globe and seeing all of the diverse, amazing content this company produces, it was clear that we needed experienced executives on our team here in North America identifying both unscripted and scripted opportunities,” she said.

“Dan and Lisa are just that; both have worked for our company internationally and have great programming instincts.”

Additionally, Georgie Hurford-Jones, senior VP of unscripted programming, will now oversee all ESNA’s MasterChef output, including MasterChef Jr, which airs on Fox. Fellow senior VP of unscripted programming Robin Feinberg will oversee the company’s Fear Factor franchise and additional series.