Relativity Television’s Ellen Rakieten Entertainment Grows Team with Two New Executives

Matthew Vafiadis and Jennifer Danska Both Join as Senior Vice President, Development

(Beverly Hills, Calif.) September 20, 2013 – Relativity Television’s Ellen Rakieten Entertainment is growing its team by adding two executives – Matthew Vafiadis and Jennifer Danska, both joining as Senior Vice President, Development.  Both will report directly to Ellen Rakieten.

Thirteen-time Emmy Award-winning producer Ellen Rakieten launched her production company within Relativity Television in April 2010, and has since produced such series as “The Marriage Ref” (NBC), in partnership with Jerry Seinfeld; “Losing It with Jillian” (NBC), starring Jillian Michaels; the Emmy Award-winning “Trisha’s Southern Kitchen” (Food Network), starring Trisha Yearwood; among others.  This fall, “Undateable,” a scripted sitcom based on Rakieten’s book of the same name, will premiere on NBC.

Relativity Television, under the leadership of award-winning producer and CEO Tom Forman (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Catfish: The TV Show), has quickly become one of the country’s largest suppliers of unscripted television and has recently expanded to scripted programming with the development of scripted sitcoms, dramas and sketch comedy series.  Relativity Television currently has 70 projects in active production, including 17 original series currently airing or that will air in the upcoming television season.

Prior to joining the company, Vafiadis served as Development and Current Executive at BBC Worldwide & Adjacent Productions, where he managed the sales of numerous series, specials, original formats and UK reformats.  Also at BBC, he executive produced “What Not To Wear” (TLC) and developed and executive produced “Breaking Pointe” (CW) and “Big Brooklyn Style” (TLC).  Prior to that, Vafiadis produced various series including “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” (ABC), “Kid Nation” (CBS), “Extra Virgin with Debi Mazar” (FOOD), among others.  He began his career in unscripted television on the hit TLC daytime block of “A Wedding, Makeover & Baby Story.”

Danska previously served as Senior Vice President of Development and Current at Kinetic Entertainment.  There she executive produced “Perez Hilton All-Access” (CW/ITV2), and worked on such shows as “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers” (NBC) and “You Deserve It” (ABC). Danska also served as Senior Vice President of Development and Current for RDF USA, where she worked on shows including “Jessica Simpson’s The Price of Beauty” (VH1), “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” (FOX) and “Secret Millionaire” (ABC). Prior to that she was Vice President, Talent Development and Casting for E! Networks, where she developed and launched such shows as “Keeping Up With The Kardashians,” “Chelsea Lately,” Snoop Doog’s Father Hood,” among others.  She began her career at CAA, and also held a creative executive position at Davis Entertainment, and as a producer on such shows as “The Isaac Mizrahi Show” (Oxygen), “The Sharon Osbourne Show” (KTLA) and “Steve Harvey’s Big Time” (KTLA).