Nicely Entertainment taps Reel One’s David Hickey as production head amid expansion

US producer and distributor Nicely Entertainment has appointed David Hickey as head of production as it expands beyond its LA base to Phoenix, Arizona.

David Hickey

Hickey, who was most recently creative executive producer at Canada’s Reel One Entertainment, will oversee all film productions for Nicely including its Arizona-shot feature Mysteries of the Heart, written by and starring Ansley Gordon (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Momlenialls). He will report to Nicely’s CEO, Vanessa Shapiro.

During his time with Reel One, Hickey oversaw more than 70 movies from conception to development and production. Those were subsequently licensed to a range of US and international buyers including A&E/Lifetime, UPTV, Hallmark, Netflix, France’s TF1, the UK’s Channel 5, Italy’s Mediaset and Spain’s Antena3.

Led by Shapiro, the former president of worldwide TV distribution and coproductions at Gaumont, Nicely has produced more than 50 movies since it launched in 2020.

The company also has a partnership with Australia’s The Steve Jaggi Company, through which Shapiro has executive produced projects such as Netflix young-adult series Dive Club and the movie Love In Bloom for US cable channel Great American Family.

The company also said it is in development on six TV coproductions set in Canada, Australia, the US and Spain.

“In addition to our distribution operations in Los Angeles and Paris, we are focused in 2023 on building a pre-eminent mini-studio in Arizona, with a goal of shooting approximately four movies per year there,” said Shapiro.

“We anticipate this year to be a huge milestone in Nicely Entertainment’s growth, both in the number of productions on our roster and our global distribution footprint.”