Half Yard names COO, hires two execs

Red Arrow Studios-owned Half Yard Productions, the US outfit behind Say Yes to the Dress, has named its new chief operating officer and appointed two development execs.

Janice Mezzetti

Janice Mezzetti has been promoted from senior VP of production and operations to COO, while Ed Crick and Brittany George have been hired as head of development and director of development respectively.

Mezzetti began her 34-year long career at UK pubcaster the BBC before moving to New York to open a production arm for BBC Factual Entertainment.

She later moved to Optomen Productions, ahead of joining Half yard Productions in 2011. Her credits include Top Gear, What Not to Wear, Worst Cooks in America, Hillbilly Handfishin, Last Alaskans and Say Yes to the Dress.

Ed Crick

UK-based Crick has worked across UK, US and global development and production for 25 years. Most recently, he served as global head of content development at Red Bull, while he was previously managing and creative director of Banijay label Bullseye TV.

Crick has also served as director of development for Discovery/TLC and as an executive in the BBC Entertainment team. Formats he has originated and launched include The Bank of Mum & Dad, Gadget Geeks, Think Tank and The Witch Doctor Will See You Now, alongside factual shows such as The Search for the Amazon Headshrinkers and Eating with Cannibals.

Brittany George

Prior to joining Half Yard Productions, George worked on the development teams at companies such as Alkemy X, ITV America and Leftfield Pictures. She has also consulted on unscripted concepts with Spoke Studios, DIGA and Momentum Content, and has developed for streaming platforms and cable networks such as Amazon, Discovery, Nat Geo and MTV.

Formats George has sold and produced include the series Dragnificent and Drag Me Down the Aisle on TLC, as well as docuseries The 212 on Fuse.

Dirk Hoogstra, CEO of Half Yard Productions, said: “With a full slate of productions including Season 19 of Say Yes to the Dress, a second season of Dino Hunters and a new National Geographic series, 2021 is shaping up to be a busy year and I know we’ve got the best team in place to deliver more great programming.”