Lifetime alum Gena McCarthy unveils format firm, strikes SPT pact

Gena McCarthy

Sony Pictures Television has struck an overall deal with Unconventional Entertainment, a new production company being launched by former Lifetime executive Gena McCarthy.

The new shingle will develop and produce original formats in genres including home, food, competitions and relationships.

The launch of Unconventional Entertainment comes almost exactly two years since Mcarthy announced her exit from the A+E Networks-owned Lifetime in search of “new creative adventures”.

She had served as Lifetime’s EVP & head of programming for unscripted as well as head of programming for A+E stablemate FYI, having joined Lifetime as SVP of reality & alternative in 2010.

During her time with A+ Networks, she was behind shows including Dance Moms, Project Runway All-Stars and Married At First Sight. Prior to that, she held roles at Discovery Channel and WEtv.

The deal marks a further expansion of Sony’s unscripted business, with the company having acquired Industrial Media last year and taken stakes in other non-fiction firms such as The Intellectual Property Corporation, B17 Entertainment and 19 Entertainment.

“I’m incredibly excited to bring a long-term dream of mine to life, launching a label that allows me to create across all the genres I love, for all the platforms I love,” said McCarthy.