Wheelhouse grows unscripted business by buying Kelly and Sorensen’s Anomaly

Matthew Kelly (left) and Michael Sorensen

Brent Montgomery’s New York-based media company Wheelhouse is expanding its unscripted portfolio with the acquisition of Anomaly Entertainment, the production outfit founded by former Discovery executives Matthew Kelly and Michael Sorensen.

Under the deal, Kelly and Sorensen will continue to lead Anomaly while developing formats and series across sports, comedy, science and celebrity-driven content. They will also work with Wheelhouse’s portfolio of labels to expand the pipeline of content produced for linear networks, streamers, YouTube and other platforms. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2017, Anomaly is one of the main suppliers of Discovery’s Shark Week programming, having produced more than 40 specials over the last nine years, including the upcoming KPop Shark Heroes, starring Ken Jeong and Rei Ami.

Outside of Shark Week programming, it has also produced multiple series for cable buyers such as Discovery Channel, ID, Food Network, TLC and HGTV as well as streamers including Netflix, ESPN+ and HBO Max. Its credits include Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch, Caught!, The Visitors, Code of the Wild and Battle of the Beards, all produced for the Discovery family of networks, in addition to McEnroe’s Places (ESPN+) and Extraordinary Stories Behind Everyday Things (HBO Max).

In recent years, Anomaly has also become known for creator and celebrity collaborations, including partnerships and projects with talent including Mark Rober, Dude Perfect, Tiffany Haddish, Snoop Dogg, Tracey Morgan, Shaquille O’Neil and Ludacris.

Prior to launching the production company nine years ago, Kelly and Sorensen were both VPs of production and development at Discovery, roles that saw them serving as both buyers and producers. During their respective stints at Discovery, they oversaw titles including Gold Rush, Amish Mafia and Skywire Live with Nik Wallenda, as well as shepherding development of Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, Bering Sea Gold, Killing Fields, Coopers Treasure and Yukon Men.

“Few folks in our world have had the success that Matt and Mike have on both sides of the aisle, buyers and sellers,” said Wheelhouse CEO Montgomery.

“We see not just a great cultural fit, especially with their broad work with athletes, entertainers and creators, but also new muscles brought to the Wheelhouse ecosystem.”