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OZY Media hires former BET, Discovery execs

Top L-R: Matthew Vafiadis, Allison Simmons, Brett Webster. Bottom L-R: Lindsay Rodger, Aaron Lorick, Sasha Fuller

LA-based multimedia and entertainment company OZY Media has hired former executives from BET Networks and Discovery and four new producers for its production arm OZY Studios.

Allison Simmons, who was previously an exec at BET Networks and Releve Entertainment, joins OZY Studios as senior executive of development, while former Discovery and World of Wonder exec Matthew Vafiadis joins as senior executive of current and branded.

The new exec producer for scripted and development is Lindsay Rodger (Netflix’s Between Two Ferns: The Movie, Hulu’s Becoming Bond), while Brett Webster (NBC’s Last Call with Carson Daly, NBC’s New Year’s Eve) and Sasha Fuller (ABC’s Tamron Hall, Sony’s The Dr Oz Show) are joining the team as exec producers on YouTube interview series The Carlos Watson Show. Aaron Lorick takes up the role of associate producer.

Under the helm of executive director and head of television Chris Rantamaki, the new creative team will oversee production on season three of The Carlos Watson Show, in addition to coproducing Lifetime movie Torn From Her Arms with A+E Networks and working on new projects for YouTube.

This year, OZY Studios will launch shows in both scripted and unscripted, covering topics from racial and gender disparities, to science, history, love and lifestyle.

“We are rapidly accelerating our development slate on the heels of our Emmy win for Black Women OWN the Conversation, and the team has hit the ground running in 2021,” said Rantamaki. “With season three of The Carlos Watson Show and our continued collaboration with A+E Networks, we look forward to broadening our slate of new content with our network and brand partners.”

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