NorthSouth debuts comedy division

US prodco NorthSouth Productions has hired the development executives behind the series Love & Hip Hop and Wives With Knives and has also launched a new comedy division.

Lee Jacobs and Zach Perkins have joined the company as VP of development and senior director of development respectively and will be based in the company’s New York office.

Jacobs most recently ran development at New York-based Monami Entertainment, producer of VH1 series Love & Hip Hop, while Perkins joins having developed formats for both Indigo Films and Hoff Productions, including Investigation Discovery’s Wives With Knives.

At the same time, NorthSouth has launched a scripted and non-scripted comedy division, which will be led by James Murray and development exec Lisa Kleinman.

NorthSouth was founded by Mark Hickman and Charlie DeBevoise in 2000 and US media giant Hearst Corp bought a 50% stake in the company in 2012.

It produces series such as Say Yes to the Dress for TLC and Impractical Jokers, which airs on TruTV in the US.

Murrary is the co-creator and performer in Impractical Jokes and will now be senior VP of comedy at NorthSouth’s new department, which will pursue opportunities on cable, broadcast and digital.

Kleinman, meanwhile, will be director of comedy development, having previously worked as a writer and producer at MTV, E! and Hud:Sun Media.

The division has already inked a copro deal on a new comedic format with Big Beach TV, which is headed up by former exec at US cable channel IFC, Dan Pasternack.