CHRIS SELAK PROMOTED TO EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT WORLDWIDE TELEVISION FOR LIONSGATE, SIGNS NEW LONG-TERM AGREEMENT WITH THE STUDIO

New Deal Reflects Continued Growth & Success of Lionsgate's Scripted Television Business

SANTA MONICA, Calif. and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Recognizing her leadership in the continued creative growth of the Company's scripted television business, Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF. B) has signed a new long-term agreement with Executive Vice President Chris Selak and expanded her purview to include worldwide television, it was announced today by Lionsgate Television Group Chairman Kevin Beggs.

Scripted programming revenue has more than tripled during Selak's six-year tenure at Lionsgate and the scope of Lionsgate dramas, comedies and limited series has expanded to encompass a wide array of new platforms.  She has also overseen the ongoing growth of the Lionsgate Television Group with key hires in casting, current programming and development.

Selak will also spearhead the Lionsgate Television Group's close creative collaboration with the newly-launched Lionsgate UK television business led by Lionsgate UK CEO Zygi Kamasa and UK Television Creative Director Steve November as part of the Company's strategy of increasing its US/UK co-productions.  In addition, Selak's team will be responsible for supplying new premium scripted projects to Starz, acquired in December 2016, with three major properties already in the development pipeline.

"Chris has been an integral part of our success over the past six years, and she will be one of the key executives moving our business forward in the years to come," said Beggs.  "[Lionsgate Television Group President] Sandra Stern and I couldn't ask for a better executive partner.  Chris's superb talent relationships, savvy creative instincts and outstanding leadership skills will be an important driver of the continued rapid growth and diversification of our global television operations."

Premium scripted series that Selak has directly shepherded through development and production since joining the Company in 2011 include the ground-breaking Orange is the New Black, Netflix's most watched show, fan favorite Nashville, whose fifth season premiere was the most-watched original telecast in CMT's history, the Golden Globe®-nominated dramedy Casual on Hulu, the new series Graves on Epix, which earned a Golden Globe® nomination for Nick Nolte, the eagerly-anticipated DearWhitePeople, Lionsgate's second original series for Netflix, the breakout success Greenleaf, which set ratings records in its first season on OWN, the acclaimed drama The Royals on E!, and the Jamie Foxx-produced half-hour comedy White Famous, starring Jay Pharoah with Foxx in a recurring role, just ordered to full series by Showtime.  Her team is also spearheading the television musical reboot of the Dirty Dancing franchise (ABC) and the prestigious American Lion (HBO), starring Academy Award® winner Sean Penn and based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, as part of the Company's deep pipeline of development projects.

In addition, she has been involved in developing the premium television series adapted from the acclaimed The Kingkiller Chronicle fantasy book trilogy, which the Company is launching as a television, feature film and video game franchise.

Selak also oversaw the successful final seasons of the iconic Mad Men and Nurse Jackie series. 

Reflecting the ongoing rapid growth of Lionsgate's scripted series business, Selak has shaped and expanded the Company's scripted division with executive hires Chad Kennedy, Senior Vice President, Current Programming, Marcello Bellisario, Vice President, Talent and Casting, and Senior Vice President, Development A.J. Morewitz, who joined Senior Vice President Television Andy Richley as co-heads of the Television Group's expanded development operations.

Before joining Lionsgate, Selak served as Senior Vice President at John Wells Productions ("JWP"), where she oversaw programming for ER and The West Wing.  She produced the ER special retrospective, "Previously On," that aired in the time period immediately preceding the series finale.  In addition, she helped develop JWP's Shameless, a dark, comedic family drama starring Bill Macy and Emmy Rossum that currently airs on Showtime, as well as TNT's Southland, a series about the lives of those serving in The Los Angeles Police Department.

Prior to JWP, Ms. Selak was Vice President at Mandalay Television, a Peter Guber Company, serving as a producer on the Showtime series Rude Awakening, starring Sherilyn Fenn and Lynn Redgrave.  She also oversaw the development and programming of the ABC series Cupid starring Jeremy Piven, and The WB's Young Americans, starring Kate Bosworth.  

ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) is a vertically integrated next generation global content leader with a diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, premium pay television networks, home entertainment, global distribution and sales, interactive ventures and games and location-based entertainment.

With the acquisition of Starz, Lionsgate adds to its portfolio of businesses the flagship STARZ premium pay network serving nearly 25 million subscribers and the STARZ ENCORE platform with over 31 million subscribers.  The combined company will operate five over-the-top (OTT) streaming services and the STARZ app delivering content directly to consumers.

The Company's feature film business spans eight labels and includes the blockbuster Hunger Games franchise, the Now You See Me and John Wick series, the critically-acclaimed box office hit La La Land, which earned a record-tying 14 Academy Award® nominations, Hacksaw Ridge, Tyler Perry's Boo! A Madea Halloween, CBS Films/Lionsgate's Hell or High Water, Roadside Attractions' Manchester by the Sea, Codeblack Films' breakout concert film Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain and Pantelion Films' Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.

One of the largest independent television businesses in the world, Lionsgate's slate of premium quality series encompasses nearly 90 shows on more than 40 different networks.  These include the ground-breaking Orange is the New Black, the fan favorite Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show, the hit drama The Royals, the acclaimed Casual, the breakout success Greenleaf and hit Starz series including Outlander, Black Sails, Survivor's Remorse and Power, the second highest-rated premium pay television series of 2016.

Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates.  Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of more than 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as a foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses.  The Lionsgate, Summit Entertainment and Starz brands are synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgate.com

MEDIA CONTACT:  
David Gardner
The Lippin Group for LIONSGATE
323-801-7449
dgardner@lippingroup.com

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SOURCE Lionsgate