ITV America & Forge Media Sign Production Pact

ITV America has signed Jared Hoffman and Chris Pollack and their newly formed Forge Media to an exclusive production deal.

Pollack and Hoffman recently left their posts as co-presidents of Generate (a DEFY Media company) to establish the new Forge Media venture. Through the ITV America deal, they will target a diverse range of projects for network, cable and digital/streaming platforms, creating and producing both scripted and unscripted content under the ITV America banner. Forge Media will focus its unscripted efforts primarily on comedy, gaming and lifestyle projects and will also return to scripted drama and comedy programming.

Also, Jay Judah will join Forge Media as VP of development and Gabrielle Utsey will come over as coordinator for production and development. Hoffman and Pollack will continue to serve as executive producers on their series that are currently airing: truTV’s Upscale with Prentice Penny and NFL Network’s Madden America, as well as El Rey’s upcoming Man At Arms: Art of War.

ITV Entertainment President David Eilenber said: “Chris and Jared have spent years bringing their deep bench of creativity to so many areas of our industry—from branded entertainment to film and TV. Our goal is to support them, give them what they need, and watch them soar in what we are confident will be a great partnership.”

Hoffman and Pollack commented, “It’s been liberating creatively to have been able to expand our professional roles further into the producing space over the past several years, and we’re beyond thrilled to take the natural next step in our careers in launching Forge Media. We can’t think of a better place than ITV America to embark on this journey. Their reach, resources and creative support is the perfect home for what we want to do and the content we plan to make.”