Alison Dammann joins Original Productions as Head of Development
Original Productions (OP) has announced that Alison Dammann has joined their team in the newly created position of Head of Development.
In this role, Dammann will oversee all of OP’s content development efforts including the cultivation of new linear TV, as well as streaming and social platform projects. She will report into OP’s Executive Vice President, Brian Lovett.
Dammann joins Fremantle from ITV America’s Good Caper Content where she developed numerous true crime and investigative projects across broadcast, cable and streaming. Her credits include the Emmy-nominated limited series Escaping Twin Flames and Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, both for Netflix, Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals for ID, the Emmy-nominated Exposing Parchman for A&E, and Oxygen’s New York Homicide, Sins of the South, and Final Moments. Previously, she also held senior development positions for companies such as Vox Media Studios, Mashable Studios and 44Blue Productions.
In addition to Dammann joining the OP team, Jeff Bumgarner, who has been with OP since 2010, will be moving into a new role as Senior Vice President of New Business Development. Bumgarner will now focus on creating new revenue streams via OP’s direct to consumer efforts. The newly created role was designed to further the company’s collaborations and opportunities for brand partnerships, talent deals and co-productions.
“Over the past few years, OP has continued to evolve, expanding into new genres of entertainment and embracing innovative ways of delivering content to viewers,” said Jeff Hasler, President of Original Productions. “Bringing Alison into the company in this new role is an exciting step forward, ensuring that we keep pushing boundaries and taking advantage of all of the unique opportunities to reach our audience in fresh, impactful ways.”
“I’m excited to join Original Productions because of their strong history of creating iconic shows and their entrepreneurial spirit that keeps them at the forefront of the ever-evolving TV landscape,” said Dammann. “As they branch into more premium content, it’s a great opportunity for me to lead the team in crafting powerful and impactful stories that continue to resonate with audiences on a deeper level.”
Building on their strong storytelling reputation and character depictions, OP has in recent years been expanding into more premium spaces. Initially known for capturing the world’s most rugged and adventurous people and landscapes in their award-winning series such as Deadliest Catch, currently celebrating its 20. season, and Bering Sea Gold (Discovery), the OP team has grown its portfolio to now also include Rather (Netflix), a documentary on the most legendary media figure, Dan Rather, as well as the Waco: American Apocalypse (Netflix) docu-series that surrounded the 30. anniversary of the national tragedy. They also took chef Carla Hall on a global adventure to discover the roots of popular dishes in Chasing Flavor (Max) and created a new high-stakes adventure competition with the Race to Survive (USA) series.
In addition, OP has recently launched their own FAST channel, RIG TV, showcasing the toughest jobs on earth. The channel originally launched in April on Roku and includes series such as Monster Garage, Jay Leno’s Garage, Black Gold, Swords: Life on the Line, Monster House and Wild Justice. In addition to Roku, RIG TV is now also available on Freevee, Fubo, Google TV, Sling TV and Plex.
