A+E reveals rebrand, packed slate of greenlights at upfront presentation

By Andrew Tracy, Realscreen

In advance of its annual upfront event for advertisers on Wednesday (March 5), the rechristened A+E Global Media (formerly A+E Networks) revealed the name of its new overbrand, along with a slate of new greenlights across its sub-brand portfolio that includes The History Channel, Lifetime, A&E and the Home.Made.Nation lifestyle block.

The new A+E Global Media handle comes on the heels of the company’s launch of its new A+E Digital division, which brings A+E’s entire digital ecosystem — including dedicated brand sites, social media handles, the SVOD platforms History Vault, A&E Crime Central, Lifetime Movie Club and more — under a single banner.

The company’s reimagined and consolidated digital presence also seems to have informed the creation of the new masterbrand, with A+E Global Media president and chairman Paul Buccieri (pictured) emphasizing in a release that “The name A+E Global Media reflects who we are today — an innovative, multiplatform content engine that reaches audiences everywhere.”

In tandem with the rebrand, the company has also announced that its ad sales team has been redubbed A+E Media Solutions.

Leading off A+E’s  new programming slate are a number of new talent-led series for The History Channel, building off of the brand’s previous productive collaborations with such names as Pierce Brosnan, Morgan Freeman and Dan Aykroyd.

First out of the gate is Secrets Declassified with David Duchovny (10 x 60 min.), which will see the former X-Files star delving into the latest evidence of some of the most explosive, recently declassified government secrets in U.S. history. Subjects will include Area 51 and the real-life story behind the Oscar-winning film Argo.

The series is produced by Nutopia in association with GroupM Motion Entertainment. Executive producers are David Duchovny; Peter Lovering, Jane Root and Simon Willgoss for Nutopia; and Richard Foster and Chet Fenster for GroupM Motion Entertainment. Eli Lehrer, Mary E. Donahue and Max Micallef are the executive producers for The History Channel.

History’s Greatest Picks with Mike Wolfe (8 x 60 min.) follows the American Pickers star as he dives into the stories behind legendary treasures, relics and artifacts from across history. The series is produced by Cineflix Productions, with J.C. Mills, Tanya Blake and Wolfe serving as executive producers. Max Micallef is the executive producer for The History Channel.

Produced by Propagate Content, History’s Deadliest with Ving Rhames (w/t, 10 x 60 min.) features the acclaimed actor from such films as Pulp Fiction and the Mission: Impossible franchise uncovering the grisly backstories of notorious people, places, things, and events throughout history that have killed in shocking ways. Rhames also serves as an executive producer on the series, along with Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens, Chelsea Friedland and Isabel San Vargas for Propagate Content. Jack Katkavich serves as co-executive producer. Eli Lehrer, Mary E. Donahue and Jen Wagman are the executive producers for The History Channel.

The two-hour documentary Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling (w/t) will follow the parallel lives and careers of African American heavyweight champion Louis and German heavyweight champion Schmeling, whose two epic bouts in the 1930s took on immeasurably greater significance as the U.S. and Nazi Germany approached war.

The doc comes from Uninterrupted, the athlete storytelling brand within Fulwell Entertainment, the recently merged entity combining LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s The SpringHill Company and Fulwell 73. Uninterrupted is also delivering another project for The History Channel, Jim Thorpe: Lit by Lightning, the previously announced documentary on legendary Native American Olympian Jim Thorpe from filmmaker Chris Eyre.

Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling is produced by Uninterrupted in association with GroupM Motion Entertainment. Nikki Spetseris is the director and executive producer. For Uninterrupted, LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Jamal Henderson and Philip Byron are the executive producers, and Matthew Rissmiller is co-executive producer. Richard Foster and Chet Fenster are the executive producers for GroupM Motion Entertainment, with Eli Lehrer and Jim Pasquarella serving as executive producers for The History Channel.

Jim Thorpe: Lit by Lightning is produced by Uninterrupted in association with INE Entertainment, Five All in the Fifth, and GroupM Motion Entertainment. Chris Eyre is director and executive producer, with James, Carter, Henderson and Byron executive producing for Uninterrupted, and Courtney Whitaker and Matthew Rissmiller co-executive producing. Mark Koops, Eric Day and Doug Banker are executive producers for INE Entertainment and Five All in the Fifth, respectively. Richard Foster and Chet Fenster serve as executive producers for GroupM Motion Entertainment. Eli Lehrer and Jim Pasquarella are the executive producers for The History Channel.

Rounding out the new greenlights for The History Channel is Hazardous History with Henry Winkler (8 x 60 min.), in which Emmy winner Winkler (Barry, Happy Days, Arrested Development) excavates the reckless and dangerous pastimes, practices and products that were once a part of everyday American life, from doctors who prescribed cigarettes and sodas laced with cocaine and lithium to radioactive toys and toxic refrigerators.

The series comes from the A+E Factual Studios Group in association with GroupM Motion Entertainment. Winkler serves as an executive producer, along with Steve Ascher and Matt Pearl for A+E Factual Studios, and Richard Foster and Chet Fenster for GroupM Motion Entertainment. Jim Pasquarella is the executive producer for The History Channel.

A+E Global Media also unveiled a new partnership with Tyler Perry Studios (TPS) and Emmy-winning Pantheon Media Group for a multi-series development deal that will see the companies collaborate on a slate of unscripted projects across multiple genres and platforms for Lifetime and A&E.

Development is underway on the projects, which will see Perry introduce fresh and diverse unscripted content that, according to a release announcing the partnership, “aligns with the core values and audiences of Lifetime and A&E.”

“There is no better place than A+E Global for this partnership to bring some incredible stories to life — everything from inspirational real-life storytelling to mysteries ripped from the headlines,” said Perry in the release. ”TPS is excited to dive into all things unscripted with this new venture.”

The deal builds on Pantheon’s existing strategic joint venture with TPS. Antoinetta Stallings, VP of unscripted at TPS and LaNeé Griffin, SVP of development and programming at Pantheon, will oversee the development and execution of the new projects.

Lifetime has also greenlit a new documentary event, The Judd Family: Truth Be Told, which is set to debut on Mother’s Day weekend, beginning May 10.

Directed by Alexandra Dean (Secrets of Playboy, Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story), the four-part series profiles the legendary country music family, examining Naomi Judd’s complicated relationship with her daughters, Wynonna and Ashley, that simultaneously connected them and drove them apart before Naomi’s death in 2022. In addition to exclusive interviews with Ashley, Wynonna, and close family members and friends, the documentary also features never-before-seen archive including photos, home videos, unreleased songs and audio.

The Judd Family: Truth Be Told is produced by Propagate Content for Lifetime. Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens, Isabel San Vargas and Jonathan Schaerf are the executive producers for Propagate Content, with Dean also serving as executive producer in addition to directing. Elaine Frontain Bryant and Brad Abramson are the executive producers for Lifetime.

For Home.Made.Nation, which airs content across A&E and FYI, A+E Global Media has announced a number of newly greenlit projects, including the latest in the company’s multi-series development deal with Hello Sunshine, Willing to Flip.

Arriving in 2026, the new series (10 x 60 min.) features home flipper Mary Tjon-Joe-Pin and her realtor husband Jon Pierre as they assist families who have inherited homes but are unsure how to move forward, and must decide whether to keep the home and preserve its history or flip it and move on.

Willing to Flip is produced for A&E by Hello Sunshine (part of Candle Media). The executive producers for Hello Sunshine are Reese Witherspoon, Sara Rea and Sue Kinkead, while Teri Kennedy and Jordan Harman are the executive producers for A&E.

Set to premiere on A&E later this year is Million Dollar Zombie Flips (10 x 60 min.), in which James Dainard and his team transform neglected “zombie” houses in Seattle into million-dollar homes, teaming with other flippers and funding their projects while they handle the renovations. If they succeed, they split the profit 50/50, but if they fall short, Dainard keeps it.

Million Dollar Zombie Flips is produced by Fireworks Media Group Canada. The executive producers for Fireworks are Jesse Fawcett, Erin Redden and Vince D’Orazi, with Teri Kennedy and Jordan Harman executive producing for A&E.

Set to premiere on April 12, Beer Budget Reno (10 x 60 min.) stars Kristen Coutts, who specializes in renovations for people who’ve been told they can’t afford them. Featuring clever, cost-saving hacks, she transforms outdated spaces into fresh and functional homes regardless of the budget.

Beer Budget Reno is produced by Boat Rocker’s Proper Television. The executive producers for Proper Television are Cathie James, Lesia Capone and Brenda Myers, with Teri Kennedy and Jordan Harman serving as executive producers for A&E.

Finally, set for a fall 2025 premiere is The Mother Flip (10 x 60 min.), starring best friends and flippers Kristy Etheredge and Rebecca Franchione, who, along with contractor Roy Salinas, transform the worst homes in Texas’ Hill Country for big profits, splitting the payday three ways.

The series is produced by Rose Rock Entertainment. The executive producers for Rose Rock are Joe Weinstock, James Burstall and Ming F. Lee, with Teri Kennedy and Jordan Harman executive producing for A&E.

A+E Global Media holds worldwide distribution rights to all the new titles above.

Photo: Ramona Rosales for The History Channel

With files from Justin Anderson