Scout Productions

Scout Productions is an Emmy® and Academy Award®-winning media company committed to culturally transformative and emotionally gripping content across multiple platforms and genres. Through their unconventional storytelling style, Scout shines a light on unseen worlds and celebrates underrepresented communities through heartfelt entertainment.

The company’s programming includes the pop culture phenomenon Queer Eye for Netflix, which has won eleven Emmy® Awards (including a record-breaking five consecutive wins for Best Structured Reality Program). The critically acclaimed and Emmy-winning Legendary has garnered considerable recognition, including nods from the TCA Awards, GLAAD, and the NAACP. Through Legendary, the stories of predominantly Black and Latinx queer people are celebrated, uplifted and accessible for all to see. Its design competition series for Max, “The Hype,” explores the world of streetwear and features some of the most diverse voices in television. Scout relaunched the fantasy-based competition series, The Quest, for Disney+, with its inaugural season winning two Emmys with three nominations. Their roster of genre-bending series continues with The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning with Amy Poehler for Peacock and the documentary series on the fantastical community of MerPeople airing on Netflix.

Scout launched their documentary division with Equal, an Max series chronicling early LGBTQ heroes. Since their foray into the docu space, they have produced some of the most compelling stories, including I Love You, You Hate Me, which quickly became a critical favorite. With its premiere on Peacock, the two-part documentary series unveiled the hit children’s classic and the crushing backlashes that plagued it. Their prolific slate in the documentary space continues with its partnership with Vanity Fair Studios for The Secrets of Hillsong expose docuseries for FX/Hulu.

David Collins

Co-Founder and Executive Producer / Scout Productions

David Collins is an eight-time Emmy award-winner who over the last 25 years has produced hundreds of hours of groundbreaking content. He is the Creator of the pop culture phenomenon Queer Eye (which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2023) and co-creator and Executive Producer of the critically acclaimed voguing competition series Legendary.

Collins continues to give the mic to marginalized voices of the LGBTQ+ community through unconventional styles of storytelling and heartfelt entertainment, celebrating the beauty of inner strength and transformation.

He has served as executive producer for multiple series, including the visionary fashion arc competition series The Hype for Max, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning with Amy Poehler for Peacock, a documentary series on the fantastical community of MerPeople for Netflix, and The Secrets of Hillsong, an investigative documentary series on megachurch Hillsong, with Vanity Fair for FX.

David Collins and Michael Williams co-founded Scout Productions in 1994, producing a wide variety of film, documentary, and TV projects for inclusive, omniculture content. Scout Productions is an Emmy and Academy Award-winning media company committed to culturally transformative and emotionally gripping content across multiple platforms with humor and heart.

With Collins at the helm, Scout embraced the shift to online platforms and continued to deliver cutting-edge content on both streaming and terrestrial networks. Collins continues to raise the story-telling bar, connecting deeply to audiences and media alike, authentically sharing the best that humanity has to offer.

Collins is a member of the Directors Guild and Producers Guild of America, and a proud graduate of Ohio University, Class of 1989. Currently a resident of Los Angeles, he considers his greatest productions to date to be his twin daughters Ella and Olive.

Follow David:

Michael Williams

Co-Founder and Executive Producer / Scout Productions

Michael Williams is the co-founder of Scout Productions and an Academy Award and Emmy-winning producer. He is the executive producer of pop culture phenomenon Queer Eye (Netflix), and producer of Errol Morris’ The Fog of War (2003), which won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

He is the executive producer on multiple series, including The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning with Amy Poehler (Peacock), the documentary series MerPeople (Netflix), The Secrets of Hillsong (FX),
voguing competition series Legendary (Max), and LGBTQIA+-rights docuseries Equal (Max).

Since Scout Productions’ inception in 1994, Williams has achieved considerable industry recognition, from his Best Documentary Academy Award on Fog of War to being recognized on Out Magazine’s List of 100 most influential LGBTQ+ people. He has garnered multiple Emmy, GLAAD, Critics Choice, DGA, and PGA Awards for creating the critically acclaimed Queer Eye and its 2003 predecessor Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (Bravo). He also produced the long-running makeover series Home Made Simple (OWN), which won an Emmy in 2015.

Williams is a Producers Guild of America (PGA) and Directors Guild of America (DGA) member. He holds a BA from the School of Communications at Boston University, where he was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005.

Rob Eric

Chief Creative Officer / Scout Productions

Rob Eric is a prolific television, film, and music producer driven by inclusive storytelling and inspiring the hearts and minds of audiences. In the last two decades, the award-winning creative powerhouse has been instrumental in Scout’s success after overseeing critically-acclaimed projects, including the voguing competition series Legendary (Max), and the Emmy-winning cultural phenomenon Queer Eye (Netflix). Eric executive produced the streetwear competition show The Hype (Max), a reboot of The Quest (Disney+), LGBTQ-rights documentary series Equal (Max), and I Love You, You Hate Me (Peacock).

As Chief Creative Officer, Eric is the Executive Producer on all upcoming projects including MerPeople (Netflix) and The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning (Peacock), and leads creative strategy and artistic execution at Scout. Eric has been honored in The Hollywood Reporter’s Most Powerful Producers in Unscripted TV List and Out Magazine’s Top 100 List of the world’s most impactful and influential LGBTQ+ people. These recognitions are in addition to his five primetime Emmy wins for Queer Eye, multiple GLAAD Media Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, and a 2004 Juno Award for “All Things,” the theme song for the original 2003 Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (Bravo).

Throughout his illustrious career, Eric has also worked in music, graphic design, advertising, and authored the high-fantasy trilogy The Last King. In his early days at Scout, he produced scripted and unscripted programming for VH1, OWN, HGTV, Style, and Logo.

Follow Rob:

Eric Korsh

President / Scout Productions

As President of Scout Productions, Eric Korsh leads all facets of the award-winning premium content creation company. Korsh is instrumental in running Scout and has built his portfolio over three decades in senior leadership positions at the intersection of entertainment, media, and advertising, including Jellysmack, Mashable, and DigitasLBi. For Scout’s part, he’s been transformative to the company since his return as President.

In 2018, Korsh was the first US hire for French startup Jellysmack. This creative social video company quickly became a juggernaut with three-billion video views per month in multiple languages across Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Korsh managed over 150 people across three global offices producing content in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic.

Jellysmack’s success came at the heels of Korsh’s launch of Mashable Studios in 2015, where he oversaw the creation of all original editorial videos and branded content for the OG digital publisher.

Prior to publishing, Korsh spent five years at the global agency DigitasLBi overseeing content and social media strategy for clients such as Bank of America, Harley Davidson, Sprint, and General Motors.

Korsh has graduate degrees from Harvard University (MPA) and Boston University (MBA), and a BFA in Film from Boston University.

Renata Lombardo

SVP, Development and Current Non-Scripted Programming

Renata Lombardo is a veteran unscripted development executive and producer who serves as SVP of Development and Current Non-Scripted at Scout Productions. Passionate about developing new talent and reinventing familiar names, she has spent over two decades working with the industry’s premiere content creators. Renata is the Executive Producer for all of the company’s recent unscripted projects, including the upcoming transformation series The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning with Amy Poehler.

Renata believes that the best content comes from authentic representation and centering a community’s voice in their own storytelling. The Emmy-winning voguing competition series Legendary – a concept she originally developed and brought to Scout – highlights the traditionally ignored Ballroom community and supersizes the Ball experience as a fabulous, over-the-top competition. Renata is also the Executive Producer of Scout’s streetwear competition series The Hype on Max and played a critical role in that show’s early development.

Joel Chiodi

At Scout Productions, Joel Chiodi leads the Documentary Division and Strategic Development. He launched the documentary division with the GLAAD-nominated, four-part documentary series EQUAL on Max, which chronicled the stories of the early trailblazers in the dangerous fight for queer rights. EQUAL was produced in partnership with Greg Berlanti Productions and Jim Parsons. Recently, Chiodi helmed THE SECRETS OF HILLSONG on FX/HULU in partnership with Vanity Fair Studios and MERPEOPLE on Netflix. Additionally, Chiodi executive produced the buzzy Barney the Dinosaur documentary – I LOVE YOU, YOU HATE ME on Peacock. In 2022, he also partnered with basketball great Candace Parker for a documentary feature on the history of TITLE IX that ran during March Madness on Turner Sports.

Before spinning up Scout’s documentary division, Chiodi was a consulting producer on the Max ballroom competition series LEGENDARY and oversaw brand strategy for QUEER EYE, including first-time partnerships with Walmart, LEGO, as well as product lines and publishing deals.

Prior to working at Scout, Chiodi ran marketing at Legendary Pictures, overseeing campaigns for projects such as 42: THE JACKIE ROBINSON STORY, GODZILLA and PACIFIC RIM and led the team that launched the NFL REDZONE. He splits his time between Los Angeles and Lake Arrowhead and has too many dogs to even count. No really, he doesn’t even know how many there are.

Follow Joel:

Elizabeth Davies

SVP of Production

Elizabeth Davies has over 25 years of experience in production and operations and excels in unscripted, documentaries, and scripted productions. Davies’ Midwestern roots instilled in her a strong work ethic and a knack for assembling top-tier teams and her impressive portfolio includes notable projects like Hell’s Kitchen, Secret Millionaire, Revenge Body with Khloe Kardashian, and the documentary series Helter Skelter. She prioritizes safe and respectful working environments, maintaining high-quality standards throughout each production.

Starting in Minnesota, Elizabeth worked on feature films, extras casting, and talent agency work. Her expertise extends to producing commercials, music videos, unscripted TV, short films, and scripted features. She even produced a short film for Ellen Degeneres. Elizabeth’s international experience spans locations such as Argentina, Greece, Mexico, and Costa Rica.

Davies’ extensive skill set covers award shows, music videos, commercials, podcasts, features, short films, documentaries, and branded content. She brings to Scout Productions her vast experience, exceptional leadership, and commitment to creating memorable productions. Davies resides in Calabasas with her family and escapes to Greece whenever possible.

Alex Mohler

Alex Mohler is an entertainment and media executive who leads strategic partnerships for talent-driven creative organizations across television, music, digital content and events. Throughout his career, Alex has connected brands with artists, storytelling and fan experiences.

At The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Mohler built award-winning campaigns with global brands like bubly, Capital One, and Walmart, all while generating millions of dollars for charities, community organizations, and families in need. These multi-platform partnerships extended beyond the iconic daytime show to include original series like Momsplaining with Kristen Bell and Fearless with Ashley Graham, along with the launch of Ellen’s Greatest Night of Giveaways, a first-ever primetime holiday event for NBC.

Alex then joined Westbrook Media where he developed entertainment content and platform partnerships for brands, including the series “Backstage” for Cadillac, in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop.

Before leading television and branded content partnerships, Alex oversaw entertainment experiences for Mastercard at many of the world’s largest music festivals. His background also includes the launch of a boutique PR & marketing agency for independent artists, in addition to developing hundreds of hours of original music content programming.