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.”
