Jori Arancio is stepping down from her role as SVP Communications for ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios, ending a 21-year career at the Walt Disney Co. No replacement has been announced, but Naomi Bulochnikov-Paul, head of PR for ABC sibling Freeform, is expected to take on the role, which might be restructured.
Melanie Frankel has been upped to the head comedy role at ABC Studios. Frankel takes over for Amy Hartwick, who stepped down in July following a significant reorganization at the Disney-owned studio that saw Patrick Moran exit the company. Frankel was previously the vice president of current series for ABC Studios, a role she has held since 2015.
Exclusives
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Showtime has canceled the comedy series “SMILF” after two seasons, and ABC studios, which produces the show, has suspended a development deal with its creator, star […]
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The creator of the ABC comedy “black-ish” is leaving the network. Barris confirmed his departure from ABC Studios in an Instagram post Friday in which he thanked those […]
Could Kenya Barris be the next prolific producer to move from the broadcast studio system to Netflix? Multiple sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the Black-ish creator and Girls Trip writer is actively trying to get out of his overall deal with ABC Studios, his creative home since 2015.
Days after seeing Shonda Rhimes exit for a game-changing deal with Netflix, ABC Studios has reunited with Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse. The Disney-owned studio has inked a massive four-year overall deal with Cuse and his newly launched Genre Arts banner in what is said to be a pact worth more than $20 million plus a percentage of the back-end on programming created under the partnership.
Ryan Seacrest is expanding his relationship with ABC in a big way. His Ryan Seacrest Productions has signed a multi-year overall deal with ABC Studios. Under the pact, RSP’s scripted division will develop scripted projects exclusively for ABC Studios at all TV networks and platforms, including broadcast, basic and premium cable and on-demand services.
NEW YORK (AP) — Three months after Comedy Central axed “The Nightly Show,” its host, Larry Wilmore, has signed a multi-year deal with ABC Studios, the company said Monday. Under […]
Having joined the company in 2010, Moran most recently served as executive vice president of ABC Studios, where he had been responsible for the production of Scandal, Criminal Minds, black-ish, How to Get Away with Murder, Quantico, American Crime and Once Upon A Time, among others.
ABC Entertainment Group President Paul Lee is shaking up the leadership of ABC Studios, promoting Patrick Moran to EVP with oversight of all creative and production operations. Barry Jossen, previously EVP and head of operations, will segue to a production pact with the studio.
How Did The Studios Fare In The Upfronts?
Warner Bros. Television leads the pack with 12 series orders, followed by 20th Television (11) — the season’s biggest gainer — and ABC Studios and CBS Television Studios with nine each.
ABC Studios is making a concerted effort in the low-cost TV arena with the appointment of Tracy Underwood to run development of cable as well as lower-cost network programming for the studio.
After Paul Lee rearranged his top programming executives in June, ABC and ABC Studios have now made more tweaks to their teams. The biggest one — Michael McDonald is being promoted to SVP drama development for ABC Studios and will head the studio’s drama department.
The group promotes John Saade, Vicki Dummer, Patrick Moran and Amy Hartwick.
