Smallscreen News

Nigel Lythgoe's empire grows, new production company

By April MacIntyre Sep 15, 2011, 14:10 GMT

Nigel Lythgoe - 31st Annual College Television Awards - Renaissance Hotel Hollywood - Hollywood, CA, USA © Chris Hatcher / PR Photos

Another Englishman is climbing to the top of the entertainment mogul-dom mountain.

Nigel Lythgoe, Executive Producer of “American Idol” and Co-creator, Judge and Executive Producer of “So You Think You Can Dance,” announced today that he has changed the name of his production company to Nigel Lythgoe Productions (NLP). NLP is the successor to his previous production entity, Big Red 2 Entertainment, whose credits include “CMT’s Next Superstar” and “Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special.”

In a press statement, it was announced that a joint venture with 19 Entertainment, NLP already has a slate of unscripted and scripted projects in place, with two presentations at E!, negotiations ongoing at numerous networks including truTV, and a pilot at CBS called “Secret Fortune,” which is an American version of the popular U.K. format and features iconic entertainer Donny Osmond as host.

At the CW: NLP has a family-centered competition show, “We Are Family,”  in conjunction with Dick Clark Prods. The company is also developing multiple unscripted projects, including with heavy metal icon Alice Cooper, as well as Pussycat Dolls founder Robin Antin and executive producer Kim Kardashian, and leading sex and relationship expert Dr. Laura Berman. “CMT’s Next Superstar,” a co-production with Legacy Prods., has been picked up for a second season, set to air in June 2012.

"I feel incredibly fortunate to be doing what I love to do. Developing quality content that is honest and compelling has always been paramount for me. Those qualities are the foundation of shows like “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance” and will continue to be at the root of everything by NLP”, said Lythgoe. 

“While technology advances at a ferocious pace, my challenge as a television producer is to deliver relevant projects to audiences while maintaining the integrity of a storyline. Audiences want to feel emotionally invested in what they are watching in the purest sense and NLP will cater to that desire.”

Lythgoe is the executive producer of FOX’s “American Idol,” which has been nominated for nearly 60 Emmy Awards, and “Idol Gives Back,” which raised more than $140 million for charity and in 2007 received the prestigious Governors Award, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ highest honor.

Lythgoe is also the executive producer, co-creator and judge of FOX’s multiple Emmy-winning series “So You Think You Can Dance,” which received nine Emmy nominations for Season 7, including for Outstanding Reality Competition Series, and can be seen in more than 70 countries around the world.

It was recently announced that Lythgoe will receive the prestigious 2011 International Emmy Founders Award at the International Emmy Awards ceremony in New York on Nov. 21, joining the ranks of such entertainment luminaries as Steven Spielberg and Sir David Frost. He is also set to receive the Rolex Dance Award at Career Transitions for Dancers’ annual gala in October, and in December he will host Ovation’s annual “Battle of the Nutcrackers.”

Lythgoe is supported at NLP by industry veterans Kary McHoul, who joined the company in April and serves as president, and newly appointed vice president of production George David Monas.

In his new role at NLP, Monas will spearhead all of the company’s production efforts.

“With his wealth of experience with shows of all genres, George is uniquely suited to oversee our production department. He brings a level of thoughtfulness and responsibility that will help ensure that our projects are creatively sound and come in on budget,” Lythgoe said. “I’m delighted to have him on our team as we expand our development slate.”

NLP is represented by Greg Lipstone at ICM.