When The Oprah Winfrey Show ended its 20-year run last year, senior producer Candi Carter says she knew she wanted to continue working with fellow Oprah producer Rick Segall.
“I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit,” Carter says. “Even when I was a senior producer at the Oprah show, I founded my own company, It’s Hip-Hop, Baby!, a DVD series for kids that used fun, child-friendly hip-hop music to educate toddlers and preschoolers. So when the show ended in 2011, it was a natural for me to want to start my own company.”
Carter and Segall launched New Chapter Entertainment, LLC. Carter, who is CEO of NCE, produced notable Oprah episodes on Martin Luther King, Jr., the Freedom Riders, Oprah’s half sister, and male survivors of sexual abuse. Segall, who is EVP of development and production, was a correspondent and producer for America’s Most Wanted before joining Harpo Productions.
Starting with unscripted content as a core concept, the pair expanded their business model to incorporate branded entertainment, and brought on Jim Olen, formerly of Rhythm Café and Protokulture, to head their branded entertainment division. “We will produce short form content for corporate clients and much more,” Carter says.
Rounding out NCE’s senior management team are VP of music Ira Antelis, a co-founder and partner and director of music production and licensing,
Daryl Jones, VP of business and legal affairs and financial consultant Scott Lang
Planning to develop many cross platform formats
Carter isn’t saying much yet about specific projects, though the company has been casting a dating game show and shooting near their Wicker Park office, which they occupied in July after moving from Oak Park.
Recent posts to the company Facebook page state that NCE has “auditioned actors, had dinner with a Grammy winner, brainstormed concepts with an Oscar-nominated actress, and shot some great footage for two upcoming sizzle reels.
They’re also offering “Think Tank” creative consulting services “to firms who need a bit of inspiration to reach their employees, brand partners, or social media audience,” Carter says. “It’s a way to create a spark of inspiration to create, innovate and get things done.”
Carter says NCE is equipped to produce pitches in-house, with editor Tim Naylor, an HD production package, and graphics suite.
“We plan to develop in a variety of formats across broadcast, cable syndication and new media for both network and corporate clients,” she says. “Right now we’re in casting and pre-production for several ideas and we hope to announce some of our projects soon.”
