UPDATED: 6:30 p.m. ET
Fox has finally found a successor to Mike Darnell, hiring Simon Andreae as executive VP of alternative entertainment, the network announced Tuesday.
Andreae's hire comes five months following Darnell's departure from Fox after 18 years. Darnell is now with Warner Bros. TV, heading up the studio's unscripted and alternative division, which included Warner's Telepictures division. Former Telepictures president Hilary Estey McLoughlin joined CBS Television Distribution as president of creative affairs
on Tuesday.
“This was a highly sought-after role in town, and given Fox’s legacy in groundbreaking unscripted entertainment, we were looking for a particular caliber of executive – and we found the perfect fit in Simon,” said Entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly. “Not only is Simon known for innovative thinking, he’s a dynamic leader who has been a producer and a network executive on both sides of the pond, and he has the energy and drive to open a new chapter in Fox unscripted.”
Andreae was recently VP of production and development on the West Coast for Discovery Channel, where he oversaw development for series Naked and Afraid, Fast N' Loud and Curiosity. He will be based in Los Angeles.
He most recently launched the Sony-backed production company Scarlet Media this summer in the U.K.
Prior to joining Discovery, Andreae served as president of The Incubator, which produced unscripted shows for Spike, USA, VH1, Discovery, History, Channel 4, TLC and Science, including Through the Wormhole.
“I’m very grateful to Kevin and his team for giving me this opportunity. My intention is to help build on Fox’s rich heritage of risk and innovation and to help support and extend its range of category-defining shows and world-leading talent,” added Andreae.
The news, which was first reported by Variety, comes a little under a month after ABC named former E! Entertainment President Lisa Berger to head its reality division.
