Discovery hires Andreae

Discovery Channel has hired the former head of science at the UK’s Channel 4, Simon Andreae, to spearhead development and production of its US West Coast operations.

Andreae has been appointed senior VP of development and production, based in Los Angeles, taking up a newly created position in which he will oversee series and specials origination.

He joins from The Incubator, the LA-based prodco he set up following a brief stint heading development at Fox Television Studios, which poached him from C4 in 2005. Prior to that he spent 12 years at Optomen, which he co-founded.

Andreae will now become a key member of Discovery Channel’s senior management team, working closely with president and general manager Clark Bunting and senior VP of East Coast development and production Stephen Reverend.

Discovery and its Science Channel have been customers for shows from The Incubator including Science of Sex Appeal and Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, a copro with Revelations Entertainment.

Andreae’s credits also include In the Womb, with Pioneer Productions for National Geographic, plus International Emmy-winning doc The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off and The Autopsy – the first broadcast of a live human dissection on UK television screens – during his time at C4.

The Incubator will continue to operate under existing president Lisa Andreae.

“Simon is one of the most highly regarded executives in the unscripted space,” said Bunting. “His razor-sharp programming acumen has produced some of the most cutting-edge and engaging nonfiction programming in the world.”