Mission Impossible maker Skydance Media has joined with US studio Lionsgate to launch a new international TV distribution label and has hired a Sony Pictures Television (SPT) exec to grow the business.

The US feature film specialist set up by David Ellison moved into TV ^[1] two years ago and counts series such as Neflix’s Grace and Frankie and WGN America’s Manhattan among its credits.

Having worked with Lionsgate on the latter, Skydance is now strengthening its relationship with the Mad Men and Hunger Games producer, which distributes around 2,000 hours of programming annually.

Brandon Zimon joins Skydance Media as senior VP of international television sales and coproductions after 10 years with SPT, latterly as VP of international distribution.

Skydance International will represent the company’s growing slate of TV properties around the world, which Zimon will seek to further bolster, having helped build SPT shows including The Blacklist, Breaking Bad and third-party acquisitions like Amazon’s Transparent.

TV titles on the Skydance slate include: Lore, exec produced by McG (Supernatural) and written by Zack Stentz (X-Men: First Class); and Madness of Angels, inspired by Kate Griffin’s fantasy books, with Neil Burger (Limitless, Divergent), exec producing and directing.

“We believe joining together with Lionsgate will strongly position the Skydance Media brand for success as we make our debut in the international television marketplace,” said Ellison. “This new partnership with Lionsgate will accelerate our ability to distribute our shows far and wide across platforms and around the globe in conjunction with the launch of Skydance International.”

Lionsgate president of worldwide television and digital distribution Jim Packer said the Skydance brand was “synonymous with big, bold, quality entertainment events.”

^[2]“Its television slate complements our global distribution pipeline,” he added. “We’re excited to partner with Skydance on all forms of global distribution, from the traditional to the disruptive, and we’ll focus on innovative deals that reflect today’s dynamic television ecosystem.”

Zimon will report to Skydance chief operating officer Jesse Sisgold. The company’s upcoming feature-film slate boasts Star Trek Beyond, the follow-up to Jack Reacher and Geostorm, with past credits including Terminator Genisys, World War Z and Star Trek Into Darkness.