All3Media-owned prodco Optomen Productions has expanded its creative team with the appointment of Kristin Wendell to vice president of development for Jane Street Entertainment.
In her new role, Wendell will be responsible for developing character-driven docuseries and original formats for both U.S. broadcast and cable networks, as Jane Street looks to “prioritizes docusoaps and documentaries.” Optomen has had a co-production deal with Jane Street since 2017.
Based out of New York, Wendell will work alongside Jane Street founder Donna MacLetchie and the recently appointed George McTeague, Optomen’s SVP of development, as well as the Optomen team.
“Kristin is a superstar developer —whip smart and incredibly creative,” said MacLetchie in a statement. “Her brainy humor and edge is a perfect combination to produce great ideas in any genre.”
Wendell will report directly to both Optomen president Maria Silver and MacLetchie.
Prior to joining Optomen, Wendell served as VP of development for Brooklyn-based Part2 Pictures where she oversaw the development team and a slate of titles, including The Story of Cool with LL Cool and Breaking Hate for MSNBC; Scene of the Crime for Investigation Discovery; and the upcoming Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta for CNN.
Wendell’s earlier career included a posting at truTV where she oversaw casting and talent for the network and developed series including Guinness World Records Unleashed, Swamp Hunters and Cash Dome. She also spent time at National Geographic working on Original Sin: Sex, Brain Surgery Live and The Boonies.