Wendy Williams Forms Production Company

Wendy Williams and her husband, manager Kevin Hunter, have formed Wendy Williams Productions, a production company focused on nonfiction.

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WWP will develop and produce reality, game and talk shows for cable and broadcast, with Williams serving as executive producer on the projects. She also might have an on-camera presence. Williams and Hunter are EPs of the nationally syndicated talker The Wendy Williams Show.

Veteran producer Lisa Knapp, formerly head of development at 44 Blue, has been named senior vp development, the company said Monday. Knapp will oversee all development and production for WWP, as well as strategic development for the company. She will be based in the Los Angeles office of Wendy Williams Show producer-distributor Debmar-Mercury, which will partner with WWP.

Jill Ramsey, currently vp of Wendy Inc., will also serve as vp of WWP, responsible for the daily operations. She negotiated the deal on behalf of Williams and Hunter.

“This is a dream come true,” Williams said. “Kevin and I have been kicking around so many ideas and are excited to be able to now bring them to life with our own production shingle. As anyone who watches my show knows, I am a huge fan of all reality and game shows, and I know a thing or two about talk. Lisa has spent a career creating and producing the kind of television shows I love, and we are thrilled to have her guide our development efforts. We don’t plan on wasting much time, so stay tuned for some must-see programming ahead.”

In a joint statement, Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein said: “It is great to have this opportunity to be involved on an even larger scale with Kevin and Wendy, who is such a tremendous talent. Together with an outstanding producer of Lisa’s caliber, they are putting into place all of the pieces to make Wendy Williams Productions poised for tremendous success across a variety of nonfiction genres. We look forward to a long, productive partnership.”