Canadian unscripted producer Sean Connolly has set up his own production business and tied up a multi-year strategic deal with compatriot firm Great Pacific Media.
Connolly has launched Original Content Lab, a development hub aimed at the unscripted and kids markets. It will work closely with Great Pacific, the factual arm of Canadian content powerhouse Thunderbird Entertainment, with the latter producing shows they co-develop out of Toronto.
Formerly Senior VP of Development at Canadian producer Bristol Global Media, Connolly is best known for developing Netflix glass-blowing competition series Blown Away,
He also worked on Nat Geo International doc 9/11 Control The Skies and paranormal-themed shows like Haunted Hospitals nd Paranormal 911, both for T+E and Discovery Travel and is working on kids show Riley Rocket, from Mladen Alexander (Degrassi) and Matthew Gerard (Hannah Montana).
Great Pacific currently has eight series underway, including History and Hulu show Deadman’s Curse and Gut Job and Styled (both for HGTV and Hulu)
“Sean has an exceptional expertise and background in the key genres audiences are hungry for — formats, competition, docudrama and kids,” said GPM President, David Way. “It’s our mission to attract top talent, and he’s one of the best factual producers and creative forces in the business. This long-term partnership will be invaluable in accelerating our development pipeline and our delivery of premium factual content to the international market.”
“My goal with OCL is to work with best-in-class creators and to identify and develop next-level IP to take to the global market,” said Connolly. “This partnership, with GPM and OCL’s combined development and sales experience, ensures a clear path to the production of the highest-quality factual content out there.”
