Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Original Productions, the FremantleMedia-owned company founded by prolific reality producer Thom Beers, has returned to WME. Beers moved his company from WME to CAA last June. Two months later, he was named CEO of FremantleMedia North America. As a result, Original underwent executive restructuring, with Philip Segal replacing Beers as CEO & executive producer and Jeff Conroy named president and executive producer. Beers holds a chairman title at Original in addition to his CEO duties at parent FMNA. Since its inception in 1997, Original has produced more than 2,500 hours of TV, including 250 hours in the last year. The company currently has 14 series airing on cable, including The Deadliest Catch, Bering Sea Gold, Ice Road Truckers, Ax Men, Wild Justice, Storage Wars, Storage Wars: Texas and American Hoggers. Storage Wars is A&E’s highest-rated series of all time, with the series’ second-season premiere drawing a record 5.1 million viewers. Its offshoot, Storage Wars: Texas, opened with 4.1 million to become the most-watched original series launch in A&E’s history. Original’s latest series, Are You Tougher Than A Boy Scout, premieres on National Geographic Channel next Monday. The company also has been expanding into the scripted space in the last year, selling projects to AMC, History and Lifetime.

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