Lauren Lexton Leaves Authentic Entertainment and Welcomes New President Helga Eike

Lauren Lexton is stepping down from her position as CEO of Authentic Entertainment. She helped co-found the company with Tom Rogan in 2000, during the advent of the reality TV boom, and worked there for 18 years. Lexton became CEO when Rogan left in 2015.

Authentic Entertainment is a production company in Burbank, CA that has won Emmys and yielded some of cable’s most watched shows. It has produced content for channels like National Geographic, Animal Planet, WEtv, Food Network, Discovery Channel, Showtime, and others. Authentic is known for hits like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Flipping Out, Toddlers & Tiaras, Ace of Cakes, and a recent reboot of Trading Spaces. The company became a part of Endemol Shine North America in 2010, which is a trailblazer in programming for multi-platform entertainment.

Helga Eike will replace Lexton and become president. Helga was formerly Authentic Entertainment’s head of development, but left in 2016 to start Red Bandit Media. Lexton fully supports Eike and is happy to see Authentic remain a female-led company.

Cris Abrego, CEO of Endemol Shine North America, comments that Lauren Lexton has established and produced some of the most classic, unscripted series of the last two decades, facilitating in the growth of Authentic Entertainment. He also happily welcomes Helga back, expecting great things from her in the future.

Helga Eike herself is excited to resume at Authentic, a company she considers an original in the production world, and lead it into its third decade.