NorthSouth Productions

What NorthSouth Productions does

NorthSouth Productions is a privately held unscripted television production company founded by Charlie DeBevoise in October 2000 and headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, with additional offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Atlanta. The company creates and produces comedy, lifestyle, and documentary series for major U.S. cable networks (TruTV, HGTV, TLC, Food Network, Reelz) and streaming platforms (Discovery+, Peacock). Its portfolio centers on long-running franchises including Impractical Jokers (now in its tenth season on TruTV with companion series 'Inside Jokes' and 'After Party'), 100 Day Dream Home and Lil Jon Wants to Do What? (HGTV), and Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta (TLC, 11+ seasons), alongside a broader catalog of 30+ show titles spanning home renovation, cooking, automotive, magic, and competition formats.

The company operates a premium documentary sub-brand, NoSo Films, which partners with high-profile filmmakers including Richard Linklater, Indya Moore, and Pailin Weidel on documentary series exploring the human experience. NorthSouth's revenue model centers on production fees, licensing, and distribution agreements negotiated with broadcast and streaming buyers, with representation by Matt Chazen of CAA. The company is 50% owned by Hearst Media following a 2012 transaction, providing long-term financial backing. Ancillary revenue includes global live-tour monetization for the Impractical Jokers franchise, which broadcasts in 80 countries and sells out venues such as Madison Square Garden and London's O2 arena.

NorthSouth positions itself as a talent-led platform for storytellers and creators, with the leadership team (CEO Charlie DeBevoise, EVP Operations Marsha Ballard, VP Production Amy Wallace, EP Head of Current Jen Holbach, VP Post-Production Margot Gattuso) overseeing development, production, and post-production across multiple network relationships. The firm maintains a deliberately small footprint of 11-50 employees and runs an integrated production-post-production infrastructure, with Knoxville serving as the post-production hub.

Name

NorthSouth Productions

Legal name

NorthSouth Productions LLC

Website

https://northsouth.tv

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NorthSouth Productions is a private unscripted TV production company creating comedy, lifestyle, and documentary series for cable networks and streaming platforms. Founded in 2000 and 50% owned by Hearst Media, it produces long-running franchises including Impractical Jokers, 100 Day Dream Home, and Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Television Production Services

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Production (512110), Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries (512)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Unscripted/Reality TV Production (Live-Action) (MPADABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Co-Production & Distribution Partnerships (Pre-Sales, Output Deals) (MPABANAI)

Keywords

• Unscripted television production
• Reality TV content creation
• Documentary film production
• Lifestyle series production
• Television content licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. TV Production Deals: NorthSouth produces unscripted series (comedy, lifestyle, documentary) and licenses/distributes them to TV networks and streaming platforms. Revenue is generated through production fees, licensing fees, and potentially advertising revenue share for successful series.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

NorthSouth Productions is an independent unscripted television production company that creates comedy, lifestyle, and documentary series which it sells and licenses to major cable networks and streaming platforms. The company operates end-to-end production capabilities — from talent-led development through shooting, post-production, and delivery — anchored by flagship franchise Impractical Jokers, lifestyle hits on HGTV and TLC, and a premium documentary division (NoSo Films) partnering with filmmakers such as Richard Linklater.

Product overview

NorthSouth Productions is a multi-show television content platform that creates comedy, lifestyle, and documentary series for broadcast and streaming networks. The portfolio centers on flagship franchise properties including Impractical Jokers (with its companion series Inside Jokes and After Party), 100 Day Dream Home, Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta, and Lil Jon Wants to Do What?, alongside diverse lifestyle programming spanning home renovation, cooking, magic, automotive, and reality competition genres. The company operates NoSo Films, a premium documentary division focused on documentary projects. The product portfolio encompasses 30+ individual show titles distributed across major networks including TruTV, HGTV, TLC, Discovery+, Peacock, Food Network, and Reelz.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NoSo Films: Premium documentary division partnering with filmmakers on series that probe the human experience.

Products and services

• Impractical Jokers Long-running unscripted comedy series (TruTV, Season 10) featuring best friends making each other uncomfortable through challenges; flagship franchise broadcast in approximately 80 countries.
• Impractical Jokers: Inside Jokes Alternate version of Impractical Jokers episodes (TruTV, Season 9) featuring shareable pop-up facts, behind-the-scenes stories, and surprising factoids from the cast.
• Impractical Jokers: After Party Companion series hosted by Joey Fatone (TruTV, Season 4) with deep dives into challenges, punishment analysis, and bonus content with insider access.
• 100 Day Dream Home HGTV home renovation series (Season 4) starring Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt building custom dream homes in 100 days or less.
• Lil Jon Wants to Do What? HGTV series (Season 2) featuring Lil Jon and designer Anitra Mecadon bringing unconventional "crunk shui" designs to Atlanta homeowners.
• Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta Long-running TLC reality series (11+ seasons) featuring Lori and Monte helping brides find the perfect dress with southern flair.
• House Haunters Discovery+ home-renovation series (Season 1) starring Anthony Anderson and his Mama Doris turning dream homes into haunted experiences.
• Just Livin', Baby! Peacock pilot featuring Instagram creator Amber Wagner and her best friend Tracy transitioning to television.
• Deadly Standoffs Reelz documentary series (Season 1) capturing standoffs that shook the nation including Waco, Ruby Ridge, and Rainbow Farm.
• Carla's Hall of Justice Series featuring Judge Carla Hall adjudicating recipe disputes between real litigants to determine the true winner.
• Prank Academy YouTube Red Original series featuring prank masters Jesse Wellens and Jeana Smith helping internet celebrities pull off large-scale pranks.
• Bullet Points Military documentary series breaking down key battles and turning points from Pearl Harbor to Desert Storm.
• Vegas Postmortem Series starring Coroner Michael "Murph" Murphy investigating Las Vegas' most mysterious deaths.
• NoSo Films Premium documentary division of NorthSouth Productions partnering with select filmmakers on series exploring the human experience, including series executive produced by Richard Linklater, Indya Moore, and award-winning filmmaker Pailin Weidel.

Named customers7 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• CAA (Creative Artists Agency)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNorthSouth is represented by Matt Chazen of CAA, one of the leading talent and entertainment agencies. CAA represents the company for deal-making and industry relationships.
• NoSo Films (Richard Linklater, Indya Moore, Pailin Weidel)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerNoSo Films is NorthSouth's premium documentary division partnering with select filmmakers including Richard Linklater, trans actor and activist Indya Moore, and award-winning filmmaker Pailin Weidel on documentary series exploring the human experience.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sharp Entertainment: Independent unscripted production company behind Below Deck, 90 Day Fiancé, and Love After Lockup — directly comparable to NorthSouth as a privately held, multi-network unscripted producer relying on established format franchises.
• 51 Minds Entertainment: Unscripted producer of The Surreal Life, Flipping Out, and VH1 reality franchises. Closely mirrors NorthSouth's model of producing reality and lifestyle series for cable networks across multiple genres.
• Evolution Media: Producer of Real Housewives of Atlanta and other Bravo/MGM unscripted franchises. Comparable as a privately held unscripted shop building long-running, talent-led reality series for cable networks.
• Magical Elves: Independent unscripted producer behind Top Chef and Nailed It! — comparable to NorthSouth in scale and structure as a multi-genre unscripted company with flagship cable and Netflix placements.
• Bunim/Murray Productions: Pioneering unscripted producer of The Real World, Project Runway, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Direct peer producing long-running reality franchises for cable and streaming buyers.
• Pilgrim Media Group: Producer of Dirty Jobs, Wicked Tuna, and Ghost Hunters. Comparable mid-size unscripted shop building durable cable franchises across factual and lifestyle genres.

Broad incumbents

• ITV America: US arm of ITV Studios producing Love Island (US), Queer Eye, and Hell's Kitchen. Larger, conglomerate-backed peer that operates across the same unscripted production space with broader global distribution reach.
• Fremantle: Global content producer behind American Idol, America's Got Talent, and Family Feud. Major incumbent in unscripted TV with significant scale advantage over NorthSouth.
• Endemol Shine North America: Producer of Big Brother, MasterChef, and Deal or No Deal. Large-scale incumbent competing for the same unscripted commissions from the same network buyers as NorthSouth.

Emerging players

• Lucky 8 TV: Independent unscripted producer with credits including 90 Day Fiancé spin-offs and paranormal programming. Smaller-scale emerging peer with similar genre mix and network buyer overlap.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/northsouth-productions-246767515336285
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northsouth-productions
• Instagraminstagram.com/northsouthtv
• Xx.com/northsouthtv

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NorthSouth Productions