Asylum Entertainment Group will launch 2025 with a new name and new leadership structure. Variety has learned that the company, part of Endeavor’s unscripted content group, is rebranding itself Panthéon Media Group.
Alongside the news, the CEO Steve Michaels has ascended to the role of chairman of Pantheon, while also appointing Jen O’Connell as the company’s new CEO. O’Connell is currently co-founder and co-CEO of Velvet Hammer Media, and will continue in this co-CEO role alongside Rebecca Quinn.
O’Connell is able to perform both tasks and expand his oversight since Velvet Hammer is a minority-owned Endeavor corporation.
“Jen is a longtime friend and a respected executive and entrepreneur,” Michaels said in a statement. “His pedigree and expertise are exactly what the company needs for this next exciting chapter of growth. I am confident that under his leadership, our 20+ unscripted labels will continue to thrive and produce innovative content.
It’s been a transformational year for Asylum/Pantheon, which has been in growth mode since Endeavor invested in the company last year. In 2024, Asylum/Pantheon acquired a stake in live media producers Done+Dusted; in partnership with Tyler Perry Studios in a joint venture to create and produce unscripted content; invested a minority stake in Ladywell Filmsan independent production house founded by “Tinder Swindler” filmmakers Bernadette Higgins and Felicity Morris; and took a stake in London-based Dare Entertainment.
Pantheon Media Group includes production shingles spanning live, premium documentary, factual, crime, sports, gaming, entertainment and other categories. Besides those mentioned above, they also include Large Eyes Entertainment, Mohawk Puppy, documentary producers Film 45, true crime producers Texas Crew Productions, limited series producer Breaklight Pictures, UK-based Soho Studios and Moon&Back Media; and first-look deals with Tom Morello’s Comandante Productions and the New York Post. Pantheon companies are based around the world in Los Angeles, New York, London, Vancouver, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Austin.
In her new role, O’Connell will oversee business and creative, while President Jodi Flynn and Chief Creative Officer Ben Bitonti will continue to lead creative at the company.
O’Connell and Quinn founded Velvet Hammer Media in 2023 and produced projects such as “Best Bite Wins” and “Empty Nest Refresh.” Prior to that, O’Connell was executive vice president of nonfiction and live-action family originals for HBO Max. She joined HBO Max in 2019, after serving as head of alternative programming for Lionsgate TV. She also held leadership roles at NBCUniversal, Core Media Group and Shed Media US.
“It has been wonderful to build Velvet Hammer Media under the Endeavor banner with (executive vice president of content strategy and development) Rebecca Sanhueza and, through that relationship, to work closely with Steve and his incredibly hard-working team and talented. Steve has brought together a diverse group of global storytellers delivering quality unscripted content under his impressive umbrella and I’m excited to work with this eclectic group of companies.” I know that by working with the Pantheon Media Group banner, Velvet Hammer is also well-positioned for further creative success in the years to come.
Asylum Entertainment was launched by Michaels in 2003 as a production company, then sold to Legendary Entertainment in 2013. Michaels bought the company five years later, then Endeavor took its stake in 2023. It transformed into a holding company for a wide range of companies. Among the labels, Asylum Entertainment Group was still confused with the former Asylum Entertainment – hence the name change to Pantheon.