EXCLUSIVE: Half a dozen staff including Co-CEO Allison Corn have been laid off at Cash Cab producer Lion TV US, which has moved to become a creative and development studio within All3Media America.
Corn had been with the The Playboy Murders maker for more than two decades but recently exited along with five staff, we are told. Corn’s former Co-CEO Stan Hsue remains and is leading a much smaller team including Director of Development Bridget Latino working on creative and development. Corn and Hsue took over from Tony Tackaberry nearly four years back when Tackaberry launched a new label backed by Blue Ant.
We are told Lion US is still in production on Home Reimagined for Magnolia, while Season 2 of Body in the Basement premieres tonight on Discovery ID. Lion will continue to be a standalone label but will work more closely with All3Media America, which will produce Lion US development projects. Lion TV in the UK, which makes Alexander: The Making of a God and Untold: Diddy in Plain Sight, continues uninterrupted.
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Launched in 1997, Lion US is an American TV force, having produced popular gameshow Cash Cab for the Discovery Channel and Bravo for years along with docs like Murder Under the Friday Night Lights, The Playboy Murders and Monster Inside: America’s Most Extreme Haunted House. All3Media made the indie one of its first purchases in 2004.
All3Media boss Jane Turton said: “Allison has worked with Stan and the team to produce some fantastic content across premium documentaries, true crime series, and unscripted formats. We are very grateful to Allison for her contribution to Lion US over the past two decades and wish her every future success. I look forward to Stan and the creative team continuing to create fresh, distinctive, and compelling content for the American market.”
Corn said Lion had become “one of the preeminent producers of true crime content” during her tenure. “My time at Lion has been filled with creative challenges, meaningful collaborations, and more than a few pinch-me moments,” she added.
Hsue said he is “so excited to be leading Lion US in its next chapter as we fully integrate into All3Media America.”
The news comes with change aplenty at London-headquartered super-indie All3Media and its American arm following the £1.15B ($1.55B) takeover by RedBird IMI, which has set a strategic goal of “U.S. growth and geographical expansion,” according to All3Media’s latest full-year results.
In June, we revealed that All3Media America was launching a swathe of new unscripted labels under The Traitors producer Studio Lambert, starting with Jill Gosicky and Vivian Choi’s MindMeld Entertainment.
All3Media saw revenue tumble 10% last year, while its new owner wrote down the value of several big labels including Lime Pictures and Optomen US.