As Her Emmy-Winning Nat Geo Series ‘Trafficked’ Ends, Mariana van Zeller Launches New Indie Media Company (EXCLUSIVE)
As “Trafficked With Mariana van Zeller” ended its award-winning run on Nat Geo last September, van Zeller has moved on to a new chapter in her career. The Emmy, Peabody and DuPont Award-winning journalist has launched The Hidden Third, a new independent production company.
The news was announced by van Zeller and Muck Media, the L.A.- and Lisbon-based production company founded by filmmakers Darren Foster, Jeff Plunkett, Alex Simmons, Cristina Costantini and van Zeller.
The Hidden Third shares the same name as the podcast about true crime and underground money, launched by van Zeller in October 2025. The idea for the new company came out of a desire to keep the production team behind “Trafficked” together for a new venture.
“Trafficked” ended on a high note, having landed 25 nominations at the News & Documentary Emmys for its final season. All told, the show has so far won nine Emmys and received a total of 88 Emmy noms.
“Over the course of five incredible seasons of Trafficked, I am convinced now more than ever that we have barely scratched the surface of the stories we can tell,” said van Zeller. “Now with The Hidden Third, we have the freedom to build upon our success as we launch an independent media company and continue our efforts at telling these incredibly complex, difficult stories through journalism, video, podcasting, books and live programming.”
The storytelling currently focuses on “the multi-trillion dollar black and gray markets that comprise up to a third of the global economy are among the most consequential and underreported forces shaping modern life,” with Season 2 of the podcast already available and a new “The Hidden Third” Patreon subscription launching next week. (According to The Hidden Third, its name is a reference to what economists describe as the shadow economy: the roughly 35 percent of global economic activity conducted in black and gray markets.)
The idea was to launch The Hidden Third in tandem with Muck Media; the idea is the new company (with its Pateron) will serve as a company that directly engages with audiences. Muck Media, meanwhile, will continue to focus on premium docs and scripted fare across various subjects like science, music, sports, comedy, art and pop culture, and stick to the traditional development and distribution outlets.
“The two companies share DNA, and the relationship is designed to be generative: stories that surface through The Hidden Third’s journalism and podcast will naturally feed Muck’s production slate, creating a pipeline that runs from original reporting to premium screen storytelling,” van Zeller said.
Besides the 25 News & Doc Emmy noms, “Trafficked” this year received a Peabody Award nomination.
“Through ‘Trafficked,’ our team at Muck Media has built an incredible infrastructure and a deep network of talent who consistently produce groundbreaking stories, and now this team is going to continue working on exciting new stories through The Hidden Third,” said Muck Media Partner and ‘Trafficked’ executive producer Darren Foster. “Some of Muck’s most successful projects started by betting on ourselves and The Hidden Third gives us the freedom to do just that.”
The news was announced by van Zeller and Muck Media, the L.A.- and Lisbon-based production company founded by filmmakers Darren Foster, Jeff Plunkett, Alex Simmons, Cristina Costantini and van Zeller.
The Hidden Third shares the same name as the podcast about true crime and underground money, launched by van Zeller in October 2025. The idea for the new company came out of a desire to keep the production team behind “Trafficked” together for a new venture.
“Trafficked” ended on a high note, having landed 25 nominations at the News & Documentary Emmys for its final season. All told, the show has so far won nine Emmys and received a total of 88 Emmy noms.
“Over the course of five incredible seasons of Trafficked, I am convinced now more than ever that we have barely scratched the surface of the stories we can tell,” said van Zeller. “Now with The Hidden Third, we have the freedom to build upon our success as we launch an independent media company and continue our efforts at telling these incredibly complex, difficult stories through journalism, video, podcasting, books and live programming.”
The storytelling currently focuses on “the multi-trillion dollar black and gray markets that comprise up to a third of the global economy are among the most consequential and underreported forces shaping modern life,” with Season 2 of the podcast already available and a new “The Hidden Third” Patreon subscription launching next week. (According to The Hidden Third, its name is a reference to what economists describe as the shadow economy: the roughly 35 percent of global economic activity conducted in black and gray markets.)
The idea was to launch The Hidden Third in tandem with Muck Media; the idea is the new company (with its Pateron) will serve as a company that directly engages with audiences. Muck Media, meanwhile, will continue to focus on premium docs and scripted fare across various subjects like science, music, sports, comedy, art and pop culture, and stick to the traditional development and distribution outlets.
“The two companies share DNA, and the relationship is designed to be generative: stories that surface through The Hidden Third’s journalism and podcast will naturally feed Muck’s production slate, creating a pipeline that runs from original reporting to premium screen storytelling,” van Zeller said.
Besides the 25 News & Doc Emmy noms, “Trafficked” this year received a Peabody Award nomination.
“Through ‘Trafficked,’ our team at Muck Media has built an incredible infrastructure and a deep network of talent who consistently produce groundbreaking stories, and now this team is going to continue working on exciting new stories through The Hidden Third,” said Muck Media Partner and ‘Trafficked’ executive producer Darren Foster. “Some of Muck’s most successful projects started by betting on ourselves and The Hidden Third gives us the freedom to do just that.”