Realscreen’s Global 100 for 2025: The Buyers Weigh In
This year’s Global 100 wraps up with 10 prodcos that scored consistently high marks from their broadcast and platform partners, who singled them out for praise for any number of factors: reliability, inventiveness, a combination of high production value with rigorous budget-consciousness, and, no less important, just how gosh-darn easy they are to work with.
Pantheon Media Group (a WME Group company)
Headquarters:
Los Angeles, CA
NUMBER OF HOURS PRODUCED IN 2024:
150+
STAFF:
300 (full-time + freelance)
RECENT PROJECTS:
Zillow Gone Wild (HGTV); Unknown Serial Killers of America (Oxygen True Crime)
UPCOMING TITLES:
Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie (Investigation Discovery); upcoming Al Michaels documentary; upcoming Damar Hamlin documentary
As the saying goes, change is the only constant, and in 2024 there was a fair amount of it on the corporate side for many production companies. One such company that underwent a significant transformation last year was Steve Michaels' production stable, formerly known as Asylum Entertainment Group and rechristened as Pantheon Media Group (PMG) in December.
There was more to the change than just a new name: industry veteran Jennifer O'Connell, most recently co-founder of L.A.-based prodco Velvet Hammer Media (VHM), was appointed CEO of the rebranded firm, with Michaels taking the role of chairman. With both Pantheon and Velvet Hammer Media being under the WME Group umbrella (WME Group being another firm undergoing an identity shift, as it was formerly Endeavor), O'Connell also continues to co-lead VHM with Rebecca Quinn.
As a holding company for several production labels (some of which also have made their way into the Global 100), PMG grew through strategic partnerships with the UK's Moon&Back Media and Ladywell Films (the prodco founded by Tinder Swindler filmmaking duo Bernadette Higgins and Felicity Morris) as well as live-event specialists Done+Dusted, among others. The company also made moves to align its core creative team with other storytellers: a pact with Tyler Perry Studios, overseen by SVP of development and programming LaNeé Griffin on the PMG side, has resulted in a multi-series unscripted development deal with A+E Global Media.
Buyers submitting nominations to the Global 100 have frequently praised the talents and reliability of that central creative team, led by president and chief creative officer Jodi Flynn, and the ability of its stable of development execs to remain "on the pulse" in their hunt for buzz-worthy stories. Recent projects of note under the PMG label proper range from true-crime tales — including the forthcoming Oxygen series Unknown Serial Killers of America and Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie for ID — to the irreverent exploration of one-of-a-kind homes that is HGTV's Zillow Gone Wild.
Growth still appears to be the order of the day for PMG in 2025, with its creative team now including former ITV America exec Simon Thomas (Love Island USA), who was brought on board as head of creative to ramp up activity in the formats space.
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Texas Crew Productions (part of Pantheon Media Group)
Headquarters:
Austin, TX
NUMBER OF HOURS PRODUCED IN 2024:
40
STAFF:
15 (full-time)
RECENT PROJECTS:
How I Escaped My Cult (Hulu); Chopper Cops (Paramount+); Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins (Oxygen True Crime)
UPCOMING TITLES:
Unannounced Peacock project
Acquired by Pantheon Media Group (formerly Asylum Entertainment Group) in 2022, Texas Crew has become a much sought-after outfit thanks to such projects as Myth of the Zodiac Killer for Peacock and Hulu's How I Caught My Killer, as well as more recent titles like the quick-turnaround New York Post Presents: Luigi Mangione – Monster or Martyr? for Tubi.
Led by CEO David Karabinas, the Austin-based prodco began as a two-man operation, working on projects for CBS, the NFL and MTV. By 2012 it had morphed into a proper prodco, with an initial emphasis on sports-adjacent programming. Since then, the range of content covered has expanded to history, pop culture, and its current hot spot, true crime.
Buyers laud the company for being "thoughtful, ethical and respectful of subject" and importantly, its ability to "consistently produce on budget."
"Their team is great with development as well, they are chasing stories in the zeitgeist and pursuing definitional content," enthuses one network exec. "They are a breath of fresh air in terms of their work ethic, their integrity, and their partnership with networks/streamers."