Rare TV appoints creative director

Rare TV has named former Keo Films creative director and exec producer Matt Cole as its creative director, succeeding Fernando de Jesus.

His appointment comes as Rare TV lands a seventh series order of Ice Airport Alaska for Smithsonian and follows a 12-month period in which Rare has produced more than 60 hours of programming including the 13^th series of BBC2’s Digging for Britain and RTÉ’s Futureville.

Cole had spent almost a decade at Once Upon a Time In… indie Keo Films, with exec producer credits on titles such as Netflix’s Chimp Empire and Channel 4’s Inside the American Embassy.

Most recently, Cole developed and produced an upcoming yet-to-be announced C4 documentary co-pro with Bellingcat that is due to launch in March.

Cole said: “It’s a privilege to be working with a team trusted to deliver such an impressive and broad slate of returning series for buyers in the UK, Ireland and USA. The company’s hard-earned expertise in factual storytelling equips it well to now widen its output as a first-class producer and content studio.”

Rare TV chair Alexander Gardiner said that he had “been tracking Matt’s work for the past couple of years and have been very impressed at how he operates with creativity and an impressive ability to see the entire picture due to his vast experience. I am delighted he’s joining us at such a pivotal moment for the company and the wider industry.”