Discovery veteran Jane Latman partners Wheelhouse to launch prodco with a Twist
Former Discovery executive Jane Latman has set up a true crime- and investigation-focused production banner under Brent Montgomery’s media company Wheelhouse.
Jane Latman
The launch of New York-based Twist comes after Wheelhouse secured a minority investment from a group led by Jeff Bewkes and Kevin Tsujihara’s investment firm Alignment Growth.
For Latman, who serves as president of the new entity, the launch comes 18 months after she left Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), where she served as president of home and food content for HGTV and Food Network, in the midst of post-merger restructuring.
In addition to true crime and investigation, Twist plans to develop projects across other genres. It will also collaborate closely with Wheelhouse’s team of creatives and producers in LA, Connecticut and London.
Latman has a long history in the unscripted space. Before assuming oversight of HGTV and Food Network content, Latman spent more than a decade overseeing development at Discovery ID, in addition to concurrently holding senior titles at several other Discovery-owned brands. She had been with Discovery since 2003 and before that spent three years with National Geographic.
During her time with Discovery ID, Latman worked on the development of projects including Homicide Hunter, On the Case with Paula Zahn, Killer Instinct with Chris Hansen, A Crime to Remember, the American Murder Mystery franchise, Vanity Fair Confidential, Disappeared and In Pursuit with John Walsh. She was also responsible for co-creating the ID Films strand, as well as developing the acclaimed doc Into the Abyss and the subsequent series On Death Row with filmmaker Werner Herzog.
This is not the first time Wheelhouse has gone into business with a top former WBD programming exec. Nearly two years ago, Courtney White, the former president of Food Network and general manager of HGTV, launched factual prodco Butternut in partnership with Wheelhouse.
In addition to Butternut and Twist, other production banners sitting under Wheelhouse include Spoke Studios, Campfire Studios and Wheelhouse UK.
“Jane has created a huge volume of programming throughout her career and has seen and executed as much as anyone in both the crime and the lifestyle space, and built incredible relationships along the way,” said Montgomery.
“In addition to her running and growing Twist, I’m excited to tap her deep experience in different content spaces as she collaborates with our broader creative team and across our Wheelhouse companies and labels. This approach has helped deliver a unique one-two punch for our partners.”
Latman added: “In my next chapter I wanted to focus on what I’ve been most passionate about and the most successful with, and getting back to my roots in true crime has me charged up. At Twist, we will look at everything from premium, single-story docs and limited series to high-volume shows and ripped-from-the-headlines, quick-turn opportunities. Wheelhouse is building out an Avenger-style team of creatives who I’m already engaged with daily.”
