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Reality producer Jeff Apploff has inked a deal with Zodiak Americas, the producer behind Hardcore Pawn and Celebrity Wife Swap.
The pact maintains Apploff’s working relationship with Zodiak Americas, as he created and produced the RDF/Zodiak game show Don’t Forget the Lyrics for Fox and Twentieth Television in syndication.
Under the deal, Apploff will create unscripted formats to be co-produced with Zodiak in the U.S. and distributed globally by Zodiak Rights. The partnership with Apploff Entertainment also marks the first for Zodiak Americas.
“We’ve designed this deal as the template for the future of our North American business,” said Jonny Slow, CEO of Zodiak Americas. “It allows producers like Jeff to remain independent and maintain a distinctive voice while simultaneously providing them with a highly motivated international partner and the global infrastructure necessary to drive a hit show.”
“Zodiak is the perfect partner as we pursue Apploff Entertainment’s strategic expansion into becoming a full-service production company,” said Apploff. “Together we can offer creative channels in both original content as well as the way we do business with networks and other producers.”
Apploff Entertainment will relocate to Zodiak’s Santa Monica base and work with Tony Yates, COO of Zodiak Americas, who served as an executive producer on Don’t Forget the Lyrics.
Zodiak Americas hopes to increase its spending on development this year.
Recently, the company launched the U.S. base for the creativity and innovation unit run by Stefanie Gelinas to serve as a development team with a focus on formats with worldwide potential. It also rebranded the New York office as Zodiak New York with an eye for producing character-driven docu-series for East Coast cable networks.
E-mail: Philiana.Ng@thr.com
Twitter: @insidethetube
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