The group has appointed Rebecca Mayer as Executive Vice President of Unscripted and Benjamin Long as Vice President of Unscripted.
Keshet Studios, the US studio owned by global producer and distributor Keshet International (KI), has appointed Rebecca Mayer as Executive Vice President of Unscripted and Benjamin Long as Vice President of Unscripted.
In these two newly created roles, production and development executives Mayer and Long will be tasked with expanding KI’s unscripted production footprint in the US while building on Keshet Studios’ recent production successes. To date, Keshet Studios is best known for developing, packaging, and producing scripted content for the US and global markets, including A Small Light (NatGeo/Disney+), Echo 3 (Apple TV+), and La Brea (three seasons co-produced with Universal Television for NBC).
As a team, Mayer and Long’s focus will be on mining KI’s extensive catalog of international IP to build a non-scripted slate of entertainment formats specifically for the US broadcast, cable and streaming markets, alongside developing original IP with the potential to be distributed internationally by KI. Based in Los Angeles, Rebecca will report to Peter Traugott, President of Keshet Studios, with Ben reporting to Rebecca.
Peter Traugott says, “We are thrilled to be welcoming Rebecca and Benjamin into the Keshet Studios’ fold. As individuals, their extensive development and production experience is impressive, but together as a team, their combined creativity and passion make them a dream hire as we look to expand our remit into unscripted.”
Keren Shahar, CEO of Keshet International, adds, “Rebecca and Benjamin’s arrival signifies the beginning of a new journey for Keshet Studios, and something of a return to form for Keshet International. We launched as a formats business a decade ago and I am personally very excited to be announcing KI’s expansion into unscripted in the US.”
Rebecca Mayer, Keshet Studios’ newly appointed EVP of Unscripted, comments, “Ben and I are a strong team with years of experience working together and are both thrilled to join Keshet Studios, Keren, Peter, and everyone at Keshet International to take things to the next level. We look forward to diving into Keshet’s deep catalog of IP while also generating a diverse slate of original IP, allowing us to capitalize on our extensive relationships, adapt proven formats for the US market, and bring fresh ideas to life through strategic partnerships with brands, producers, and talent. With Keshet International’s global infrastructure and our affinity for scalable production models, we are excited to develop and produce content that prioritizes collaboration, story, creativity, and vision.”
Mayer joins Keshet Studios from Banijay Studios North America, where she was EVP of Programming and Development, overseeing current programming (Temptation Island, Don’t, Wife Swap) while developing original IP and adapting existing formats, alongside Director of Development Ben Long. Prior to that, Mayer was a development consultant and producer at Universal Television Alternative Studio, where she worked on formats including NBC’s comedy competition series Bring the Funny, musical competition series Songland, and sports competition series The Titan Games. Mayer has produced and collaborated with such talent as Tyra Banks, Lizzo, Chrissy Teigen, Debra Messing, and Kat Graham. Mayer has served as showrunner and executive producer on docuseries, reality, live, and live-to-tape formats in the US and internationally (UK, Asia, France, Central America) including the news talk series TakePart Live (Pivot), Toddlers & Tiaras (TLC) and FABLife (Disney/ABC). Mayer began her career in casting (Intervention, Kid Nation) and is repped by WME.
Long also comes to Keshet Studios from Banijay Studios North America, where he worked within the development team for six years, rising through the ranks to Director of Development. Over the past three years, he and Mayer together produced a network pilot and saw several development deals through. Earlier achievements include developing and producing Don’t, working on iconic formats like Minute to Win It and more niche ones like Hellevator, as well as producing 150 episodes of the syndicated game show Celebrity Name Game.
Keshet Studios currently has more than a dozen scripted projects at various stages of development or production, including limited and returning series, short-form dramas, and feature-length films. Recent productions include A Small Light (Nat Geo / Disney+) which is co-produced with ABC Signature and premieres globally on Disney+ from 2 May 2023; Mark Boal’s critically acclaimed adaptation of When Heroes Fly, Echo 3 (Apple TV+); and three seasons of La Brea (NBC) and The Calling (Peacock) with David E Kelley, both co-produced with Universal Television. Other projects in Keshet Studios’ pipeline include a TV adaptation of Katelyn Monroe Howes’ The Awoken; and on the film side, political thriller Untitled Judo directed by Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir Ebrahimi. Keshet Studios is repped by WME in all areas, and by Range Management for unscripted.
