Nat Geo Signs Up ‘Blue Planet II’ Commissioner Tom McDonald – CB

Nationwide Geographic has signed up BBC Studios’ Factual boss Tom McDonald, the exec and commissioner behind a few of the UK’s largest pure historical past sequence together with Blue Planet II and Planet Earth II.

McDonald joins the U.S. community within the newly-created New York-based function of Government Vice President, International Factual/Unscripted Content material, the place he’ll begin in June reporting to Nationwide Geographic Content material President Courteney Monroe as considered one of her prime lieutenants.

McDonald shall be liable for the event and manufacturing of all world unscripted sequence and specials throughout journey, journey, exploration, historical past, science and pure historical past, which can feed Disney+ and Nat Geo’s linear channels. Carolyn Bernstein will proceed to supervise Nationwide Geographic Documentary Movies.

His direct experiences shall be Alan Eyres, Senior Vice President, Growth and Manufacturing, Unscripted, Janet Vissering, Senior Vice President, Growth and Manufacturing, Wildlife/Pure Historical past and Michelle Upton, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing Administration.

McDonald is arguably one of the crucial senior and highly-regarded factual execs within the UK area, which is accountable for almost all of the world’s pure historical past manufacturing.

He has been BBC Studios Managing Director of Factual Productions for 3 years, overseeing the likes of BBC landmarks Inexperienced Planet, Universe and Greta: A Yr that Modified the World, together with a wealth of reveals for U.S. networks and streaming companies.

Most lately, Nat Geo unveiled House and Lion from BBC Studios throughout its TCA Disney+ slate announcement, the latter from Jon Favreau, whereas BBC Studios Pure Historical past Unit opened an workplace in LA.

Previous to BBC Studios, McDonald sat on the opposite aspect of the fence as commissioner, spending seven years within the BBC’s factual division and rising to Head of Pure Historical past and Specialist Factual Commissioning the place he ordered the likes of Blue Planet II and Planet Earth II.

Monroe known as him a “good inventive govt with extraordinary imaginative and prescient and impeccable style.”

“Having spent a decade on the BBC creating premium, genre-defining factual content material, Tom is the proper individual to guide our efforts to provide best-in-class, must-see Nationwide Geographic content material,” she stated.

McDonald added: “It has been a privilege to work on the BBC, however the probability to hitch Courteney and her group at this pivotal second in Nationwide Geographic’s evolution is a chance that was not possible to show down. As I relocate to the U.S. and begin a brand new chapter, I really feel excited and energized by the chance.”