World of Wonder Launches Doc Division

World of Wonder is expanding its business with the formation of a new documentary division, WOW Docs.

The division will be led by seasoned unscripted executive Jim Fraenkel, who has been with the company since 2018. Fraenkel’s award-winning body of work spans news and documentaries at Spotify, MTV and FOX. His new title will be senior VP of documentary and current.

WOW Docs marks a continued investment by the company into the subversive and culture-defining feature programming that the brand is known for. World of Wonder’s documentary filmography of over 50 self-produced titles shines a light on underrepresented and marginalized communities, the left-of-center—both established and emerging talent that shape culture.

“We began our career in documentaries with The Eyes Of Tammy Faye,” said co-founders Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey, to whom Fraenkel will report. “Ever since, we have always believed that the potential to tell real-life, powerful, moving stories is limitless. We see a significant gap in the market. The preference for big-name talent and directors means there are many powerful and inspiring stories from outsider voices crying out to be told. Non-scripted narrative is for us the cutting edge of storytelling today. Two of our feature docs have been made into scripted features, and we see that as something that will continue to happen as the scripted world looks to documentaries for material and inspiration.”