Former Discovery exec and Half Yard co-founder Sean Gallagher dies

Former Discovery executive and Half Yard Productions co-founder Sean Gallagher has died at the age of 57 following a battle with cancer.

Sean Gallagher

The respected US unscripted executive played a key role in some of Discovery’s early successes at the genesis of the reality and factual TV explosion in the late 90s and early 2000s.

During an eight-year spell at Discovery that started in 1995, Gallagher developed and commissioned titles including Deadliest Catch, American Chopper and MythBusters.

After climbing to VP of programme development at Discovery, he moved to sister brand TLC as VP of development in early 2005.

The following year he shifted into independent production with the launch of Half Yard Productions, which he co-founded with Abby Greensfelder.

Half Yard produced titles including the juggernaut wedding franchise Say Yes to the Dress, in addition to I Found the Gown and Randy to the Rescue. The company also produced Diggers (Nat Geo), How the States Got Their Shapes (History) and Hillbilly Handfishin’ (Animal Planet) and American Loggers (Discovery), among others.

Half Yard’s trajectory caught the eye of Red Arrow Entertainment Group, which acquired the US prodco for an undisclosed sum in 2014, bringing it under the same umbrella as companies including Kinetic Content.

In late 2020, Gallagher stepped down as CEO of Half Yard and left the business he had co-founded 14 years before, with former History and Discovery exec Dirk Hoogstra taking the reins.

Gallagher was born in Maine and is survived by his wife Deirdre Gallagher and children Finian, Fiona and Declan Gallagher.