EXCLUSIVE: Vinnie Malhotra, who previously headed up documentaries at Showtime, is joining President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground.
Malhotra becomes President of Higher Ground Productions, the company behind Crip Camp and Descendant. It comes two months after Malhotra, who was EVP, Nonfiction Programming at Showtime, left the company amid a major restructure under Nina Diaz after it merged with MTV Entertainment Studios and became Paramount+ with Showtime.
Malhotra will report to President and Mrs. Obama and will lead the company’s film and TV division. As part of the move, Tonia Davis, who was head of film and TV at the company, has been named Head of Motion Pictures and will oversee the company’s film development and production, including Netflix’s upcoming Rustin and Leave The World Behind.
Malhotra was widely considered one of the top documentary execs in the business, having joined Showtime in 2015. He has been responsible for and exec produced documentaries including We Need To Talk About Cosby, Weiner, Attica and XY Chelsea and docuseries such as Couples Therapy, UFO, The Circus and Love Fraud.
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