AGC Studios, Stuart Ford’s production company that is behind the hit Netflix documentary series “The Tinder Swindler,” has launched its own nonfiction and unscripted division and appointed executive Joel Zimmer as president to lead the team.
AGC Unwritten will be its own subsidiary company and will bring the indie studio’s unscripted and non-fiction output under one umbrella. Zimmer will have a mandate to develop, finance, produce and distribute a variety of unscripted and alternative programming.
AGC will announce a nonfiction slate of films and TV in the coming weeks, including several projects that are currently being shepherded by BJ Levin. Levin will move across AGC Studios to the new company Unwritten and serve as EVP of Non-Fiction Content. Zimmer is also building out an executive team which will also be announced shortly.
In addition to “The Tinder Swindler,” AGC also has in the works an upcoming documentary series “NOBU” about the famed restaurateur Nobu Matsuhisa from director Matt Tyrnauer (“Where’s My Roy Cohn?”). The company has also co-financed three documentaries with CNN Films, including “Lady Boss: the Jackie Collins Story,” “John Lewis: Good Trouble” and “Scandalous: The True Story of the National Enquirer.”
Zimmer comes to AGC Unwritten with 20 years of industry experience and most recently worked at Magical Elves, where he served as EVP of Development. Prior to the Elves, he ran an independent production banner, Snow Day Entertainment, which produced and developed projects for A&E Originals, FOX Studios, and Zee Americas. Previously, as Head of Current for 495 Productions he oversaw and executive produced over 500 hours of programming for a variety of cable and broadcast networks.
“Having delivered thirty-plus premium quality films and TV shows to the marketplace in just four years, it’s tremendously exciting for AGC to be further expanding its range of output with the launch of AGC Unwritten,” Ford said in a statement. “We’re privileged to have a recognized industry heavyweight like Joel onboard to lead the new venture and I am looking forward to AGC evolving further into unscripted formats, gameshow, docu-series and alternative programming in the near future.”
“I’m thrilled to be working with Stuart, Lourdes and the entire first-class team they’ve assembled at AGC Studios,” Zimmer said. “To be able to bring the same elevated storytelling of AGC’s film and scripted units to Unwritten is an incredibly energizing prospect. I’m eager to get into the market with fresh new formats, great characters, and unique worlds.”
AGC’s chief creative officer Lourdes Diaz said, “We are delighted to be launching AGC Unwritten with Joel Zimmer at the helm. His experience, intelligence, instincts, and passion make him the perfect person to expand our robust slate through meaningful partnerships with creators, best in class talent, and impactful formats and story.”