Vinnie Malhotra Exits The Obamas’ Higher Ground
EXCLUSIVE: Vinnie Malhotra has left Higher Ground.
Malhotra joined The Obamas’ production company in April 2023 as President.
Former Showtime docs chief Malhotra has exec produced a number of high-profile series during his two and a half year run at the company including Starting 5, the ten-part Netflix basketball series that provides an intimate behind-the-scenes look at five of the league’s best players, which recently premiered its second season, and Court of Gold which chronicled the 2024 Paris Olympic Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The company will now be led by Head of Film Anikah McLaren, Head of TV Jessie Dicovitsky and Head of Nonfiction and Sports Ethan Lewis.
Higher Ground’s Head of Business and Strategy Joe Paulsen said, “We’re grateful for Vinnie’s impact and many contributions to Higher Ground. He’s played an important role in our growth, and we wish him every success in his next chapter.”
The company’s television slate also includes Netflix’s The Later Daters, an unscripted dating series about older people finding companionship, Emmy-winning limited series Working: What We Do All Day and nature series Our Oceans and Our Great National Parks.
Upcoming projects include Netflix’s All The Sinners Bleed, an adaptation of S.A. Cosby’s novel, The Altruists, which tells the story of Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison, and a half-hour sketch comedy limited series from Larry David about American history for HBO.
Malhotra left Showtime in 2023. He joined the network in 2015 and was responsible for and exec produced documentaries including We Need To Talk About Cosby, Weiner, Attica and XY Chelsea and docuseries such as Couples Therapy, UFO, The Circus and Love Fraud. He also also had a big hand in its booming music documentary business with the likes of Spector, Personality Crisis: One Night Only, Bitchin’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James, Shangri-La, Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men and Whitney: Can I Be Me.
Previously, he was at CNN Worldwide, where he was SVP, Development and Acquisitions and worked on series including Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown, Morgan Spurlock: Inside Man and This is Life with Lisa Ling. He started his career at ABC News before moving to ESPN.
