Tommy Mottola Ties Up with eOne in Multiyear TV Deal

Entertainment One (eOne) has entered into a multiyear first-look deal with entertainment mogul Tommy Mottola’s Mottola Media Group (MMG) for scripted and unscripted TV programming.

Mottola will serve as an EP on all TV projects and will tap into his industry and creative expertise and relationships to develop and produce original programming with eOne. eOne will serve as the studio and control worldwide rights for all projects.

The first project under the deal is Harlem High for Freeform. Created by Mottola, the scripted series follows the diverse students involved in a Harlem high school’s show choir. It will be written by Sam Laybourne with Overbrook Entertainment producing alongside Mottola.

Pete Micelli, eOne’s chief strategy officer for film and television, said: “Tommy is a zeitgeist force in the global music industry as well as Latino and urban entertainment and far beyond. His ability to identify pop-culture trends and long track record of breaking records and staying ahead of the curve make him a strong magnet for talent and an incredible partner for eOne.”

Mottola commented: “eOne‘s world-class executives, visionaries and dreamers are the perfect partners who share in the belief that with a great idea anything is possible and I look forward to working with them as we nurture bold thinkers and build a diverse television slate.”

Former chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, Mottola currently heads the Mottola Media Group, a global media and entertainment company in New York City. Mottola is credited with discovering and developing the careers of iconic artists such as Hall and Oates, Carly Simon, John Mellencamp, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, as well as Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony.

In addition to news of the partnership, Jennifer Danska was named executive VP of MMG and joins from Talpa Media USA to oversee the day-to-day with eOne.