Randy Counsman

Creative Director & Executive Producer

About

Hands-on senior content producer translating strategic direction into measurable growth by delivering premium television, news, and social content.

  • Trusted by talent—from A-list celebrities to reluctant participants.
  • Leads high-profile projects from pitch through delivery.
  • Creator of award-winning series and lasting franchises.
  • Fluent in every stage of the production pipeline.

Experience

Creative Director

upNEXT News

2025

  • Built the social-first newsroom's end-to-end production workflow, including original formats, branding, and graphics.
  • Designed systems and automated templates that dramatically reduced content creation time.

Head of Development

Stephen David Entertainment

2018 – 2025

  • Led a development team and delivered sales at Netflix, History, Discovery, PBS, and more.
  • Created a low-cost interview series that featured MrBeast and drove 20M+ views.
  • Developed sellable originals, including Discovery's first Shark Week film and Netflix's global Top 3 hit Wyatt Earp & the Cowboy War.

Executive Producer

NBC News / Peacock Productions

2016 – 2018

  • Pitched and executed a slate revitalization plan aligned with the modern media landscape.
  • Secured a development deal and three major sales by retooling the company's approach.

Executive Producer / Founder

Rearrange Media

2014 – 2016

  • Launched a production shingle with Glass Entertainment Group and built a 40+ person team.
  • Managed budgets, operations, and business affairs while securing a first-look with CNN.
  • Produced the critically acclaimed series Pope: The Most Powerful Man in History on a $4.5M budget.

VP of Development

Stephen David Entertainment

2009 – 2014

  • Joined as the first employee and helped define company strategy alongside the founder.
  • Closed sales that turned the startup into a Realscreen Global Top 100 producer and eventual Banijay acquisition.
  • Developed Emmy-winning franchise The Men Who Built America and more than a dozen follow-up series with partners such as Playboy, NASCAR, and Xbox.

Director of Development

The Idea Factory

2008 – 2009

  • Developed and sold the series that became the foundation for Stephen David Entertainment.

Skills

Tools & Technical

  • Adobe Creative Suite
  • Video Production
  • Interviewing & Story Craft
  • AI Automation Systems
  • Python, HTML & CSS

Leadership & Impact

  • Series development and franchise building
  • Stakeholder alignment across talent and partners
  • Full life-cycle production management
  • Data-informed creative experimentation

Education

New York University
Dramatic Writing

Syracuse University
Communications Design

Selected Credits

  • Wyatt Earp & The Cowboy War Co-Executive Producer · Netflix
  • Human: The World Within Supervising Producer · Netflix / PBS
  • Holiday Home Makeover with Mr. Christmas Supervising Producer · Netflix
  • Pope: The Most Powerful Man in History Executive Producer / Writer / Director · CNN
  • Hamilton: Building America Executive Producer / Writer / Director · History
  • The Men Who Built America Writer / Producer · History (2× Emmy nominations)
  • The Titans That Built America Co-Executive Producer · History
  • Sitting Bull Co-Executive Producer · History
  • Capsized: Blood in the Water Supervising Producer · Discovery
  • The Interrogator Supervising Producer · Investigation Discovery
  • American Dynasty Supervising Producer · Fox Nation
  • Washington Writer · History Channel
  • The World Wars Writer / Producer · History (Primetime Emmy nomination)
  • Secrets to Success with Daymond John Co-Executive Producer · CNBC
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