Asylum Entertainment Rebrands with New Leadership

Asylum Entertainment Group will start 2025 with a rebrand to Pantheon Media Group and a new leadership structure. CEO Steve Michaels is transitioning to chairman, while Jen O'Connell, currently co-founder and co-CEO of Velvet Hammer Media, will take on the role of CEO at Pantheon, alongside Rebecca Quinn, who will continue as co-CEO of Velvet Hammer.

O’Connell is able to do both jobs and expand her oversight as Velvet Hammer is a minority-owned Endeavour company. "Jen is a longtime friend and a highly respected executive and entrepreneur," Michaels said in a statement. "Her experience and expertise are precisely what the company needs for this exciting new phase of growth. I am confident that under her leadership, our 20+ unscripted labels will continue to thrive and deliver innovative content."

2024 has been a transformative year for Asylum/Pantheon, which has been expanding since Endeavor’s investment in the company last year. This year, Asylum/Pantheon acquired a stake in live media producers Done+Dusted, partnered with Tyler Perry Studios in a joint venture to create and produce unscripted content, invested in a minority stake in Ladywell Films, an independent production company founded by "Tinder Swindler" filmmakers Bernadette Higgins and Felicity Morris and acquired a stake in London-based Dare Entertainment.

Pantheon Media Group encompasses a range of production labels across various genres, including live, premium doc, factual, crime, sports, game, entertainment, and more. In addition to the previously mentioned companies, its portfolio also includes Large Eyes Entertainment, Mohawk Puppy, documentary producer Film 45, true crime producer Texas Crew Productions, limited series producer Breaklight Pictures, U.K.-based Soho Studios, Moon&Back Media and first-look deals with Tom Morello's Comandante Productions and the New York Post. Pantheon’s companies are located worldwide, with offices in L.A., New York, London, Vancouver, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Austin.

In her new role, O'Connell will oversee both business and creative operations, while president Jodi Flynn and chief creative officer Ben Bitonti will continue to lead the creative side of the company.

O'Connell and Quinn co-founded Velvet Hammer Media in 2023, producing projects such as "Best Bite Wins" and "Empty Nest Refresh." Before that, O'Connell served as executive VP of nonfiction and live-action family originals at HBO Max, joining the company in 2019 after a role as head of alternative programming at Lionsgate TV. She has also held executive positions at NBCUniversal, Core Media Group and Shed Media U.S.

"It has been wonderful building Velvet Hammer Media under the Endeavor banner with Rebecca Sanhueza and, through that relationship, working closely with Steve and his incredibly hard-working and talented team. Steve has curated a diverse powerhouse of global storytellers delivering quality unscripted content under his impressive umbrella and I am excited to work with this eclectic group of companies. I know that working with the Pantheon Media Group banner, Velvet Hammer is also positioned for further creative success in years to come."

Asylum Entertainment was founded by Michaels in 2003 as a production company and was sold to Legendary Entertainment in 2013. Michaels repurchased the company five years later, and Endeavor acquired a stake in 2023. As the company evolved into a holding firm for various labels, the name Asylum Entertainment Group was often confused with the original Asylum Entertainment, leading to the rebrand to Pantheon.