Former Endemol Shine North America exec Georgie Hurford-Jones has been named head of current programming at Universal Television Alternative Studio, the studio announced on Tuesday.
In her new role as EVP of the studio’s current programming, Hurford-Jones will oversee day-to-day management of the studio’s series and pilots with responsibilities that include development, casting, creative, formats and production plans.
She will report directly to Toby Gorman, who was named president of Universal Television Alternative Studio in August.
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“We continue to build a world-class team for our rapidly growing studio and Georgie is one of television’s most accomplished and respected unscripted executives,” Gorman said. “Her track record as both a producer and executive is second-to-none, yielding some of the biggest and most successful formats to date. As we take Universal Television Alternative Studio to even greater heights, Georgie’s vast experience will help ensure the quality of our shows remains unmatched season after season.”
Most recently, Hurford-Jones was senior vice president of unscripted original series and specials at Endemol Shine North America, where she served as executive producer on unscripted series like “MasterChef,” “MasterChef Junior” and “The Biggest Loser” reboot.
Previously, she was senior vice president at Simon Cowell’s Syco TV, serving as executive producer and launching ITV’s BAFTA Award-winning “Britain’s Got Talent,” before moving to the U.S. to serve as executive producer on “America’s Got Talent” from 2007 to 2012.
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Hurford-Jones other notable producing credits include ITV’s BAFTA and Comedy Award-winning series “Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway,” “Ant & Dec’s Gameshow Marathon” and “Prince’s Trust 30th Birthday LIVE” comedy night. She also served as a producer on the Channel 4 Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning talk show “So Graham Norton,” as well as Channel 4’s “FY2K: Graham Norton LIVE” and travel documentaries.
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