EXCLUSIVE: Pantheon Media Group, the umbrella company behind series including Netflix’s Sean Combs: The Reckoning docuseries and the upcoming BTS: The Comeback Live special, is on the lookout for some new investment.
Deadline understands that the company, which was founded by Steve Michaels and received investment from Endeavor in 2023, has hired merchant bank The Raine Group as it looks at its options. We hear it’s very early in the process but there are a broad range of possibilities on the table.
“We are evaluating taking outside investment in Pantheon Media Group,” a WME Group spokesperson told Deadline.
It comes as the group, which is made up of production companies such as Done+ Dusted and Texas Crew Productions as well as a number of international producers, has been ramping up its output over the last twelve months.
Done+ Dusted, which was founded by Hamish Hamilton, who has directed numerous major live events including the Super Bowl half-time shows, Simon Pizey and Ian Stewart, received investment in 2024. It is making Netflix’s BTS special as well as Nikki Glaser’s upcoming Hulu comedy special Good Girl.
Austin-based Texas Crew Productions produced Sean Combs: The Reckoning, one of Netflix’s biggest unscripted hits last year, with 50 Cent, as well as Peacock true-crime series The Gilgo Beach Killer. Asylum Entertainment is behind series such as HGTV’s Zillow Gone Wild, which was renewed for a third season.
It also operates joint ventures including Breaklight Pictures, which is behind Apple’s Cowboy Cartel, and Big City Television, which makes History’s Greatest Mysteries with Laurence Fishburne. The company also consists of Peter Berg’s Film45 and has a deal with Tyler Perry Studios to produce unscripted programming.
The company also has a sizeable business in the UK. Soho Studios, founded by Ian Lamarra, landed its first U.S. commission with A&E last month for Predator Hunters, and it has also backed Moon&Back Media, founded by veteran UK execs Dawn Airey, Nigel Hall and Russ Lindsay, and Ladywell Films, formed by producers of Tinder Swindler.
In 2023, WME Group created a non-scripted content division, led by Rebecca Sanhueza, who is also President of WME Fashion. It also subsequently invested in Velvet Hammer Media, founded by former HBO Max execs Jennifer O’Connell and Rebecca Quinn, which is behind Netflix’s forthcoming dating series Age of Attraction.
Pantheon Media Group, which was formerly known as Asylum Entertainment Group, was originally formed by Michaels in 2003 and sold to Legendary Entertainment for over $150M in 2014. Michaels bought it back in 2018 and restored the original brand name in 2019. It was rebranded as Pantheon in December 2024 with Velvet Hammer’s O’Connell becoming CEO and Michaels moving up to Chairman.