Yahoo News Trending Media Company Founders Alex Cooper, Matt Kaplan Hire Mina Lefevre as Chief Content Officer of Television
Alex Cooper and Matt Kaplan have tapped Mina Lefevre as the chief content officer of Television of their newly formed media company, Trending.
Lefevre will report to Kaplan and oversee creative, and strategic oversight for the company (ACE Entertainment, The Unwell Network and Call Her Daddy) in scripted and unscripted.
“I am thrilled to be joining the incredibly talented team at Trending at such a pivotal time,” said Lefevre. “Alex Cooper and Matt Kaplan are a bold creative force that understand not only how to create content but also actively shape the cultural conversations for Gen-Z. I am excited about the opportunities ahead to work with today’s leading creators and storytellers.”
“Mina Lefevre has an extraordinary track record in shepherding premium content and prestige television that speaks to the cultural zeitgeist,” said Kaplan and Cooper. “Having worked with her previously at MTV, Mina will once again bring her wealth of experience, robust relationships with talent and create shows that push the creative boundaries in storytelling.”
As Variety previously reported, Cooper, creator, host and executive producer of Spotify’s hit sex and relationship podcast “Call Her Daddy,” and Kaplan, founder/CEO of ACE Entertainment and producer of Netflix’s “XO, Kitty” and the streamer’s “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” film franchise, formed the Gen Z targeted media venture with intentions of “elevating today’s voices and crafting tomorrow’s stories for an independent, resourceful and inclusive generation.”
Prior to joining Trending, Lefevre was the head of development and programming at Meta/Facebook. In this role, she oversaw the development and production of original series for Facebook’s video platform (Watch) as well as spearheaded original funded original content that lived across Facebook, Oculus, Messenger, and Instagram.
During her time with Meta, she ushered in an unscripted lineup of programming across talk shows, reality, sports, and docuseries that included popular series like “Cardi Tries with Cardi B,” “Post Malone’s Celebrity Pong League,” “Piece of Mind with Taraji P. Henson,” among other titles.
On the scripted side, Lefevre developed two seasons of Elizabeth Olsen’s “Sorry For Your Loss” and “Sacred Lies.” Lefevre also commissioned and developed the podcast adaptation of “Limetown” with Jessica Biel and Stanley Tucci.
Prior to joining Facebook, Lefevre was executive vice president, head of scripted at MTV. Under her leadership, the scripted department flourished, doubling scripted projects at the network including Awkward, Faking It, Scream, Finding Carter and The Shannara Chronicles and bringing high-profile talent Ken Jeong, Jon Favreau and Victoria Justice to the network.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
