Blue Ant Studios Bolsters Unscripted Team

Canada’s Blue Ant Studios, the production arm of Blue Ant Media, has appointed Jennifer Harkness to the position of senior VP of unscripted content.

In her newly created role, Harkness’s key focus is developing, selling, and producing unscripted series for the U.S. and global markets. Effective immediately, she joins the L.A. office and will be working alongside Dan Lubetkin, senior VP of scripted content. These two senior roles strategically position Blue Ant Studios to increase development and production of premium projects with American-based partners and platforms in both the unscripted and scripted genres.

Previously, Harkness served as senior VP of sales and development for the U.S. for Cream Productions (Dictator’s Playbook, Fear Thy Neighbor). In this role, she focused on sales and development of original unscripted programming for U.S. broadcasters and networks, as well as created production partnerships and supported Cream’s push into digital and virtual reality. At Cream, she developed a variety of projects including an unannounced series with CNN, for which she also serves as co-executive producer.

Harkness joined Cream from Jumpwire Media, the social media agency she co-founded. Prior to Jumpwire, she served as head of development for factual entertainment at Temple Street Productions, where she developed and produced series such as Recipe to Riches (Food Network Canada, Global) and the competitive music show Cover Me Canada (CBC).

“Bringing on board an executive of Jennifer’s caliber reflects our commitment to creating and selling premium unscripted programming for the U.S. market and abroad,” said Sam Sniderman, executive VP of global production at Blue Ant Media. “She has a keen eye for the contemporary market, passion for compelling stories and brings with her a wealth of high-level relationships with buyers in L.A. and New York.”

“The growing appetite for new, premium content combined with Blue Ant’s commitment to investing in top-tier productions is the perfect opportunity to develop exciting new projects,” Harkness added.