Ethan Lewis has been promoted to Head of Non-Fiction and Sports at Higher Ground Productions, the media company of former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. At Higher Ground, Lewis has overseen the company’s expansion into sports-related content, including “Court of Gold,” “Starting 5,” which is now in production on season two, and “The Turnaround.”
He will work on both non-fiction films and television. Lewis will continue to report to Vinnie Malhotra, the president of Higher Ground Productions.
“Ethan has propelled Higher Ground’s expansion into sports storytelling while building on the company’s award-winning track record in documentary film. We couldn’t be more excited about the success of ‘Starting 5’ and the incredible response to the launch of ‘Court of Gold,’” said Malhotra. “Ethan has helped solidify Higher Ground’s place in the non-fiction and sports worlds. We’re thrilled to have him continue shaping these spaces as he takes on an even bigger role.”
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During his time at Higher Ground, Lewis has produced several of the company’s projects, including “Starting 5,” a Netflix basketball series that offers behind-the-scenes access to five of the league’s best players; “The Later Daters,” an unscripted dating series about older people finding companionship, which reached number five on Netflix’s most-watched list; “Working: What We Do All Day,” the Emmy Award-winning limited series inspired by the book from Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Studs Terkel; “Our Oceans,” a Netflix series that explores the wonder of Earth’s oceans, narrated by Barack Obama; and “The Light We Carry: Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey,” which featured Michelle Obama delving into the challenges and life lessons that shaped her second best-selling book in conversation with Oprah Winfrey.
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Lewis has overseen several of Higher Ground’s documentary films, including “The Turnaround,” the documentary short film from Academy Award-winning director Ben Proudfoot that tells the story of Philadelphia Phillies’ superfan Jon McCann; “Descendant,” which follows descendants of the survivors from the Clotilda, the last ship that carried enslaved Africans to the United States, as they reclaim their story; and “American Symphony,” the acclaimed documentary that won the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Music Film and was nominated for both an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a BAFTA Award for Best Documentary
“Across formats and subjects, Higher Ground’s remarkably talented team is dedicated to great storytelling,” said Lewis. “I’m honored to step into this new role and continue building on the company’s incredible non-fiction legacy and continue to build our sports momentum.”
Lewis joined Higher Ground in 2022 as SVP, Non-Fiction, coming from Michael Strahan and Constance Schwartz-Morini’s SMAC Entertainment, where he served as Head of Unscripted & Branded Content. At SMAC, Lewis produced and sold acclaimed shows, including HBO’s docuseries “The Cost of Winning,” ESPN’s “30 for 30: Deion’s Double Play,” “Wiz Khalifa: Behind the Cam” for Apple Music, and “BS High.” He began his career at WME, developing content and branding opportunities between talent and the agency’s advertising arm, Droga5. He then moved to Adaptive Studios, where he contributed to Verizon Go90’s reality competition series “The Runner” and “Project Greenlight Digital Studios,” the digital content extension of HBO’s “Project Greenlight.” Before joining SMAC Entertainment in 2018, Lewis worked at The Story Lab, a global non-scripted financing and distribution company.
In addition to the second season of “Starting 5,” Lewis will produce the upcoming “Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds,” a new documentary film coming this spring that goes behind the scenes with the US Airforce Thunderbirds squadron.
