rod aissa

In his most recent role, Rod Aissa served as the Executive Vice President OF Unscripted Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. Aissa oversaw all unscripted lifestyle and documentary programming across NBCU’s broadcast, cable and streaming platforms: NBC, Bravo, E!, Oxygen True Crime, SYFY, Universal Kids, USA Network and NBC’s streaming service Peacock.

Aissa’s purview included programming for Bravo, which experienced an unprecedented double digit growth in 90% of its series in 2023, including the resurgence of “Vanderpump Rules, “Real Housewives of Miami,” “Real Housewives of Dubai,” and the breakout comedy “Welcome To Crappie Lake.” He was integral in developing  Peacock’s unscripted strategy which produced some of its biggest hits, such as “Dr. Death,” “Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip,” “Paris in Love,” “John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise,” and “Casey Anthony: Where The Truth Lies;” which at the time was Peacock’s biggest non scripted subscription driver.  Under the direction of his documentary strategy, Peacock also received the prestigious Peabody award for his team’s work on “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks.”

Previously, Aissa was Executive Vice President OF ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING FOR OXYGEN AND E! PRODUCTION, WHERE HE MANAGED THE STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION OF OXYGEN’S RE-BRAND INTO TRUE-CRIME PROGRAMMING while concurrently shepherding E!’s growing production slate. Oxygen soon became one of the fastest-growing cable entertainment networks with double-digit growth. He was the driving force behind the network’s fresh slate of true crime series, including “Snapped: Notorious,” “Cold Justice,” “Killer Couples,” and breakout event series such as “Dirty John, The Dirty Truth,” “and “Aaron Hernandez Uncovered.”

When Aissa took on E! production in 2019, he expanded his duties to include oversight of the network’s buzziest programs, including “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” “Very Cavallari,” and “Botched;” and helped drive Terry Bradshaw’s family reality series “The Bradshaw Bunch” to become E!’s best performing new series in years. He also brought superstar Kevin Hart to the network and helped create “Celebrity Game Face.”

Aissa is an Emmy Award-winning executive with substantial experience in the development and production of unscripted series. Known for his keen eye for talent, over the course of his career he has helped launch such stars as Jenny McCarthy, Carmen Electra, Mandy Moore, Dax Shepard, BJ Novak, Tyrese Gibson, Molly Sims, Carson Daly, Ashton Kutcher and Beyoncé Knowles.

 Before joining Oxygen, Aissa was on the launch team at OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network where he oversaw all programming and development, including the Emmy-nominated “Becoming Chaz,” “Ryan and Tatum: The O’Neals,” “Finding Sarah,” “The Judds” as well developing the brand’s defining break out hit “Sweetie Pies.”

Prior, he was Executive Vice President of TV at Katalyst Films, Ashton Kutcher’s production company, where he was responsible for developing cable and broadcast properties, including two seasons of “True Beauty”  and the game show “Opportunity Knocks”  both for ABC. Earlier in his career, Aissa was Executive Vice President, Series and Talent Development for MTV/MTV Films, where he was part of the team that created, developed, and executive produced such pop culture hits as the Emmy-winning “The Osbournes,” “Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica,” “The Ashlee Simpson Show,” and  “Punk’d.”

danny villa

With over 25 years of experience, he has successfully worked on both sides of the buying and selling aisle. 

Most recently, Danny was the head of scripted & unscripted content for Telemundo Plus, focused on generating premium US Hispanic programming. in this role, he championed shows like “Menendez/Menudo: Boys Betrayed,” “Who Killed Jenni Rivera?” and "Selena & Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them," which became three of Peacock’s most-watched limited documentary series of 2023.

He also oversaw the development and production of the mental health-focused series “A Great Day with J Balvin,” the documentary series “Reggaeton: The Music That Conquered the World,” executive produced by Daddy Yankee, and the Spanish language soccer-themed comedy series “90 Minutos.”

As a Peacock creative executive, Danny oversaw the production of the 2020 Olympic basketball documentary series "For Ball and Country" and the NFL legend biography series "Joe Montana: Cool Under Pressure.”

In 2018, Danny launched Man vs. Robot, creating hit shows like Oxygen’s true crime series “Florida Man Murders” and Roku TV’s military-themed documentary “Ten Weeks” while under a first-look deal at BluMhouse Productions. 

Previously, Danny established the American production offices of prominent international companies TwoFour Productions & ALL3 Media’s MME Filmpool, setting up various documentary series AND PILOTS at Discovery, History, National Geographic, and RedBull, INCLUDING THE THIRTY-PART, TRANSFORMATIONAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES “SECRET LIVES OF AMERICANS” FOR PIVOT.

In 2011, Danny joined the network launch team for Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network as VP of Development and Production, where he championed the transgender documentary "I am Jazz: A Family In Transition.” While at OWN, Danny received a NAMIC Luminary Award.

PRIOR TO OWN, Danny helped launch Wilmer Valderrama Enterprises, where he and Wilmer developed US Hispanic-focused scripted and unscripted projects for MTV, Nickelodeon, and the Science Channel. They also produced a live version of Wilmer’s successful MTV comedy COMPETITION series “Yo Momma” and performed for U.S. Military personnel worldwide on behalf of the U.S.O. 

EARLY IN HIS CAREER at MTV, Danny played a key role in talent development, nurturing CELEBRITY talents such as Daniel Tosh, Nick Zano, Dax Shepard, BJ Novak, Whitney Cummings, and LaLa Anthony. He also contributed to the development and production of shows like “PUNK’d” with Ashton Kutcher and “Yo Momma” with Wilmer Valderrama.   

Danny currently serves as a TV Academy Reality Peer Group Executive Member.