EXCLUSIVE: Jilly Pearce, who was previously President of Objective Media Group America, is the latest Brit to move into the world of U.S. commissioning.
Pearce has joined ABC and Hulu as SVP, Unscripted Programming. She ostensibly becomes the number two for Rob Mills, who is EVP, Unscripted & Alternative Entertainment at Walt Disney Television, on the series side.
She will be responsible for unscripted development and current series programming across the broadcast network and streamer, which have been aligned on non-scripted since Mills was promoted in 2021.
Pearce moved to LA in 2017 as EVP of the All3Media-owned production company, which is behind series such as CBS’ Lingo, which was hosted by RuPaul, and TBS’ The Cube, which was hosted by Dwayne Wade.
She was also responsible for projects including HBO Max’s 12 Dates of Christmas, Fox’s Flirty Dancing, PBS’ The Great American Recipe and Discovery+’s Great Balloon Bomb Invasion. She was promoted to President in 2022.
Pearce has plenty of commissioning chops. Before joining Objective, she was Formats Commissioning Editor at British broadcaster Channel 4, where he oversaw entertainment series including Virtually Famous, That’s So Last Century and How’d You Get So Rich? and was part of the team that oversaw youth hit Made In Chelsea. Before joining Channel 4, she’d had roles at Pulse Films and MTV.
“Jilly’s extensive experience spanning both the network and production sectors brings invaluable insight and leadership to our organization,” said Mills. “Her energy and vision will undoubtedly elevate and inspire our work. We are excited to welcome her to our team.”
“I’m excited to join Craig Erwich, Rob Mills and their incredible teams at Disney Entertainment Television — the force behind some of the most innovative and compelling shows on television,” added Pearce. “I look forward to building on their successful relationships and collaborating on entertaining new formats and beloved returning series.”