Ballen Studios, the global content company founded by renowned internet storyteller John "MrBallen" Allen and CEO Nick Witters, announced today Zak Levitt as Head of Production. Levitt, who has long established himself in the entertainment industry as a distinguished and award-winning storyteller, has been at the helm of some of the most popular and acclaimed documentaries and series.
“When we were looking for an executive to oversee our audio network, Zak was the clear winner,” said Witters. “In addition to being a seasoned veteran in the business, he has an uncanny ability to not only find unique stories, but tell them in a way that pulls in an audience. Zak is truly one of a kind.”
With Levitt as the Head of Production, he will now oversee all of Ballen Studios’ existing slate of audio programming across various stages of production and development. In addition to developing and producing new stories for audio,...
“When we were looking for an executive to oversee our audio network, Zak was the clear winner,” said Witters. “In addition to being a seasoned veteran in the business, he has an uncanny ability to not only find unique stories, but tell them in a way that pulls in an audience. Zak is truly one of a kind.”
With Levitt as the Head of Production, he will now oversee all of Ballen Studios’ existing slate of audio programming across various stages of production and development. In addition to developing and producing new stories for audio,...
- 9/21/2023
- Podnews.net
Exclusive: Ballen Studios, founded by former Navy Seal turned breakout podcaster MrBallen, is staffing up.
The company, which was launched last year by MrBallen, otherwise known as John Allen and Nick Witters, who previously worked at WME, has hired Zak Levitt as its new Head of Production.
Levitt joins from podcast company Cadence13, where he was EVP, Production. He started the company’s original production studio C13 Originals and produced series such as The Set and The Sunshine Place, which came from Robert Downey Jr. He also worked on series such as Gangster Capitalism and Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia.
Before joining Cadence13, Levitt was a filmmaker and made films for ESPN’s 30 for 30 including Bad Boys and The Doctor.
In his new role, he will now oversee all of Ballen Studios’ existing slate of audio programming across various stages of production and development.
The company, which was launched last year by MrBallen, otherwise known as John Allen and Nick Witters, who previously worked at WME, has hired Zak Levitt as its new Head of Production.
Levitt joins from podcast company Cadence13, where he was EVP, Production. He started the company’s original production studio C13 Originals and produced series such as The Set and The Sunshine Place, which came from Robert Downey Jr. He also worked on series such as Gangster Capitalism and Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia.
Before joining Cadence13, Levitt was a filmmaker and made films for ESPN’s 30 for 30 including Bad Boys and The Doctor.
In his new role, he will now oversee all of Ballen Studios’ existing slate of audio programming across various stages of production and development.
- 9/20/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Audacy today announced The Set - a ten-part original series exploring the never-before-told inside story of the biggest police corruption scandal in NYPD history, and the investigation that uncovered it all.
“The Set” will launch on June 14, 2023, with all ten episodes available to binge exclusively on the Audacy app. The first three episodes will be released on June 14 everywhere podcasts are available, followed by one episode per week for the season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2JJFBomxIA
“The Set” is written, directed, and narrated by Zak Levitt, the award-winning creator of the acclaimed hit series “Root of Evil,” “Relative Unknown,” and the Peabody-nominated “Gangster Capitalism.”
“The Set” tells the inside story of policing in Harlem's 30th precinct, during its most vulnerable time–the crack era. Thirty-three of its officers were arrested on corruption charges, and the precinct came to be known as "The Dirty 30."
Background: It’s the early 1990s,...
“The Set” will launch on June 14, 2023, with all ten episodes available to binge exclusively on the Audacy app. The first three episodes will be released on June 14 everywhere podcasts are available, followed by one episode per week for the season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2JJFBomxIA
“The Set” is written, directed, and narrated by Zak Levitt, the award-winning creator of the acclaimed hit series “Root of Evil,” “Relative Unknown,” and the Peabody-nominated “Gangster Capitalism.”
“The Set” tells the inside story of policing in Harlem's 30th precinct, during its most vulnerable time–the crack era. Thirty-three of its officers were arrested on corruption charges, and the precinct came to be known as "The Dirty 30."
Background: It’s the early 1990s,...
- 6/14/2023
- Podnews.net
Robert Downey Jr. and his wife Susan Downey are boarding the podcasting bus.
The duo are moving into the audio medium with an investigative audio series about the Synanon cult.
The Sunshine Place tells the story of the former California-based experimental drug rehab facility and community that morphed into a dangerous and violent cult, led by its messianic founder Charles E. Diedrich.
The series comes from Team Downey and Wink Pictures for Audacy-owned Cadence13.
The Sunshine Place will tell the story of Synanon from the inside out, and by the people who lived it, charting its rise and exploring its decade-long reign over 1960s and ‘70s counterculture through the recollections of members, survivors and dedicated chroniclers. The series will be narrated by Sari Crawford, daughter of a former Synanon leader Bill Crawford.
The eight-part series will launch August 10. Listen to a trailer below.
Synanon was called “the miracle on the beach” in Santa Monica,...
The duo are moving into the audio medium with an investigative audio series about the Synanon cult.
The Sunshine Place tells the story of the former California-based experimental drug rehab facility and community that morphed into a dangerous and violent cult, led by its messianic founder Charles E. Diedrich.
The series comes from Team Downey and Wink Pictures for Audacy-owned Cadence13.
The Sunshine Place will tell the story of Synanon from the inside out, and by the people who lived it, charting its rise and exploring its decade-long reign over 1960s and ‘70s counterculture through the recollections of members, survivors and dedicated chroniclers. The series will be narrated by Sari Crawford, daughter of a former Synanon leader Bill Crawford.
The eight-part series will launch August 10. Listen to a trailer below.
Synanon was called “the miracle on the beach” in Santa Monica,...
- 8/9/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: C13Originals is launching a new podcast that tells the true story of a Hell’s Angel member, murder and the impact it had on his family who went into witness protection.
The Entercom-owned company, which is behind podcast series including Root of Evil, Once Upon A Time In The Valley and Long May The Run, is launching Relative Unknown on August 11.
It tells the story of Jackee Taylor, who was born Jacqueline Crouch, the daughter of Clarence “Butch” Crouch, a member of the Banditos motorcycle gang in Texas in the 1960s who became a Hell’s Angel and subsequently confessed to an unsolved murder.
In exchange for a reduced sentence, he agreed to testify against a number of gang members and his family was placed into Witsec.
Taylor has been hidden in the program for almost 40 years. But after a strange and violent incident reveals secrets about her past,...
The Entercom-owned company, which is behind podcast series including Root of Evil, Once Upon A Time In The Valley and Long May The Run, is launching Relative Unknown on August 11.
It tells the story of Jackee Taylor, who was born Jacqueline Crouch, the daughter of Clarence “Butch” Crouch, a member of the Banditos motorcycle gang in Texas in the 1960s who became a Hell’s Angel and subsequently confessed to an unsolved murder.
In exchange for a reduced sentence, he agreed to testify against a number of gang members and his family was placed into Witsec.
Taylor has been hidden in the program for almost 40 years. But after a strange and violent incident reveals secrets about her past,...
- 8/10/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Documentary podcast series Gangster Capitalism is returning for a second season with the NRA in its sights this time.
The show, which is hosted by documentarian Andrew Jenks and is produced by Cadence13’s C13Originals, followed the college admissions scandal in its first season last year.
More from DeadlineAnimation Production Is Still Going, Sometimes Slower, Amid Coronavirus Crisis'Jaws'-Themed Stage Musical 'Bruce' Swimming Toward Summer 2021Tcm Classic Film Festival Sets Online Edition After Cancellation Due To Coronavirus - Update
The new run will see Jenks look into the National Rifle Association (NRA) tracing key moments and following the money trail of this almost 150-year-old nonprofit organization. The eight-episode run will feature reports from gun shows, conferences, and protests and will include interviews with former staffers, members and lobbyists, as well as everyday Americans.
The podcast will launch its first two episodes on March 25 (you can listen to a trailer...
The show, which is hosted by documentarian Andrew Jenks and is produced by Cadence13’s C13Originals, followed the college admissions scandal in its first season last year.
More from DeadlineAnimation Production Is Still Going, Sometimes Slower, Amid Coronavirus Crisis'Jaws'-Themed Stage Musical 'Bruce' Swimming Toward Summer 2021Tcm Classic Film Festival Sets Online Edition After Cancellation Due To Coronavirus - Update
The new run will see Jenks look into the National Rifle Association (NRA) tracing key moments and following the money trail of this almost 150-year-old nonprofit organization. The eight-episode run will feature reports from gun shows, conferences, and protests and will include interviews with former staffers, members and lobbyists, as well as everyday Americans.
The podcast will launch its first two episodes on March 25 (you can listen to a trailer...
- 3/24/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
To paraphrase the eminent SNL character Stefon, the college admissions scandal has everything: washed-up Nineties sitcom stars, corrupt Ivy League officials, bratty Instagram influencers who throw tantrums when they lose their spon-con deals. Now, those addicted to the scandal have yet another resource: the first season of Gangster Capitalism, a podcast that investigates white-collar corruption.
Produced by C13Originals and hosted by documentary filmmaker Andrew Jenks, Gangster Capitalism, which premiered on Tuesday, tells the story of the folks behind Operation Varsity Blues, the FBI term for the massive college-admissions scandal engineered by William “Rick” Singer,...
Produced by C13Originals and hosted by documentary filmmaker Andrew Jenks, Gangster Capitalism, which premiered on Tuesday, tells the story of the folks behind Operation Varsity Blues, the FBI term for the massive college-admissions scandal engineered by William “Rick” Singer,...
- 5/14/2019
- by EJ Dickson
- Rollingstone.com
Black Dahlia obsessives, take note — TNT’s new drama series, I Am the Night (which debuted on January 28th), is getting a companion podcast that will dig into the true events which inspired the series and made George Hodel a primary suspect in Elizabeth Short’s 1947 unsolved murder. Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia, produced in partnership with Cadence13, will premiere the first of eight episodes on February 13th.
I Am the Night, directed by Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), tells the story...
I Am the Night, directed by Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), tells the story...
- 2/8/2019
- by Amelia McDonell-Parry
- Rollingstone.com
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