Netflix has hired former NBC Universal Television Entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin as VP of unscripted series. He will be charged with bolstering Netflix’s unscripted roster, which currently includes Queer Eye, Love is Blind, Too Hot to Handle, Perfect Match, Formula 1: Drive to Survive, Selling Sunset and Squid Game: The Challenge.
Gaspin most recently ran Gaspin Media, the production studio behind Netflix’s The Tinder Swindler and Rhythm & Flow.
He will report to a former NBC colleague who now serves as VP of nonfiction series at Netflix, Brandon Riegg.
“Jeff is such a huge talent, with so much experience across unscripted and television in general, and I couldn’t be more excited that he’s joining us,” Riegg said in a statement. “From Rhythm & Flow to Tinder Swindler, he’s already been part of the Netflix family and we’re looking forward to continuing working with him and learning from him in this lively world of unscripted TV.”
“I feel a bit like Al Pacino in Godfather Part III. Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in,” said Gaspin. “I’m so thrilled to join Brandon and the unscripted team at Netflix. I was always most successful and happiest when I built or ran unscripted at VH1, Bravo and NBCU. I can’t wait to do the same at Netflix.”
Gaspin served as chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment from 2009 through 2011 overseeing broadcast and cable networks, including USA Network, Syfy, Bravo and Oxygen. He stepped down after 19 years with NBCU when it merged with Comcast. Prior to his NBCU years, he served as executive VP of production at VH1 where he created Behind the Music. As president of Bravo, he oversaw such hits as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Project Runway.
The streamer’s former unscripted VP, Jenn Levy, departed last month.
