Sierra/Affinity & Engine Entertainment Form New Venture

LOS ANGELES: Sierra/Affinity and Engine Entertainment have joined forces to launch Sierra/Engine Television, a new production and distribution outfit that will make its debut at MIPCOM with projects such as Crossbones, which has a ten-episode order from NBC.

From Georgeville Television, Crossbones is produced by Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald alongside Luther creator Neil Cross. The slate also includes Hunters (aka Epidemic), which has a 13-episode order from ABC. The show is from J. Michael Straczynski and Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment. The new venture will assist in the development, production, financing and international sales of filmed entertainment and also distribution, by partnering with Georgeville Television. Sierra/Engine will produce and distribute its own content as well as represent third-party titles.

Nick Meyer, the CEO of Sierra/Affinity, stated: “Chris’s experience in studio television distribution and in the independent financing and packaging of programming is a perfect fit for our expansion into television. Partnering with Chris and Engine accelerates our movement into this space and we are looking to continue to work with great creative partners in television as we have done in film.”

Chris Philip, the CEO of Engine, added: “Nick and Marc have created something special in filmed entertainment, and with their financial strength, and appetite for TV, we are ready to offer our global clients a raft of new high quality programming and taking three new U.S. network series to MIPCOM is an outstanding way to launch."