Monday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

Discovery lines up Arrow, Jeff Dunham & Naked and Afraid series

Discovery Channel has detailed its originals slate for the coming months, with shows including a Jeff Dunham-fronted motoring series, a storm-chasing series from the UK’s Arrow Media and a global version of Naked and Afraid.

Jeff Dunham’s The Cars that Drove Us goes inside the 130-car garage of the avid collector and stand-up comedian, with The Nacelle Company and Jeff Dunham’s Red Wire/Blue Wire producing.

Texas Crew Prods and New York Post Entertainment are behind Conspiracies & Coverups, while Naked and Afraid: Global Showdown (w/t) brings survivalists from around the world to represent their homelands in a grueling 40-day primitive bushcraft competition. Lionsgate Alternative Television produces.

Other shows include weather series In The Eye of the Storm from Arrow Media, Jupiter Entertainment’s How to Catch A Dirtbag, and Escape From Alcatraz, which is from Leepson Bounds Entertainment, Kontent Farm & Strong Island Films and explores if brothers John and Clarence Anglin survived their escape.

WBD Access extends Scripted Engine scheme

Warner Bros. Discovery’s talent development unit WBD Access and streamer HBO Max have linked up Series Mania Institute on the return of the Script Engine writers’ programme.

Script Engine is designed to identify and support the development of mid level screenwriters to create original, locally rooted series. The second run of the scheme will focus on writers with demonstrable connection to France, Spain, Italy and Germany.

Three writers per market will be selected to take part in a four-month structured development programme, working towards a fully developed original series concept intended for HBO Max.

Projects will be presented to regional HBO Max executives, giving shortlisted participants the opportunity to present their work and receive feedback. All selected projects will then enter a six month first look period in their respective territories. Last year, WBD Access and the Series Mania Institute selected French screenwriter Julie-Anna Grignon as the winner of their 2025 Writers’ Programme, paving the way for her pilot The Hum. Applications are via WBD Access, opening 2 April and close 26 April.

Go Button promotes duo

Canada’s Go Button Media has promoted Pierre-Oliver Barbier and Ella Gershon to new roles as it prepares to produce more than 80 hours of greenlit factual programming across the year.

Barbier, who joined Go Button in 2022, becomes senior director of business affairs and strategy, leading initiatives across production and operations, legal and tax credit policies for productions and, further integrating emerging technologies such as AI.

Gershon joined Go Button Media in 2023 and becomes vice president of accounting. Daniel Oron, co-founder and executive producer at Go Button Media, said the duo offered “exceptional strategic thinking, forward planning and overall business guidance…” to the company that he co-founded alomst two decades ago.

STV ups Craig Hunter

STV Studios’ long serving creative director for factual is heading to newly launched Global Studios as managing director.

Craig Hunter will be reunited with former STV boss and Global’s group chief executive Simon Pitts, and will work closely with chief broadcast and content officer at James Rea as well as joining Global’s executive committee.

Global Studios will house a podcast slate that includes The News Agents, My Therapist Ghosted Me and F1 show Up To Speed.

Hunter will also oversee creative partnerships with The Overlap, Gary Neville’s sports media which Global acquired in January, and leading creator network The Fellas Studio, an acquisition from October. He has been creative director at STV Studios since 2019 after joining from the BBC. Read more