ABC is in the midst of reshuffling its West Coast daytime division, TheWrap has learned exclusively.
Daytime chief Lisa Hackner is in talks for a possible new role at the company, sources close to the situation say, while her top lieutenants Sheila Bouttier and Jill Mullikan-Bates are likely leaving.
Hackner has served as executive vice president of daytime and syndicated programming at ABC since 2013, overseeing mainly shows on the West Coast, including the soap “General Hospital.”
Hackner and her team were also behind “FABLife” (pictured), a daytime talk show with Tyra Banks and Chrissy Teigen that premiered last year. But the series got low ratings and was axed earlier this year. “FABLife” was on life support for months, especially after Banks announced mid-season that she was leaving the show.
Hackner previously worked at Telepictures Productions, the Warner Bros. syndication unit, where she helped develop series such as “TMZ” and “The Tyra Banks Show.” Bouttier and Mullikan-Bates worked at Telepictures during the same period.
Paul Lee, then the president of ABC Entertainment Group, brought Hackner aboard in 2013 to help revamp the network’s daytime programming from the West Coast. But development had proceeded slowly, one insider said, and the “FABLife” bust did not help. Earlier this year, Lee left the network after reported power struggles with his boss, Disney/ABC Television Group President Ben Sherwood.
Shortly after Lee exited, Rebecca Campbell, ABC’s stations boss, saw her role expanded to include oversight of the network’s daytime programming.
An ABC spokesperson had no comment. Hackner did not return a call placed to her office on the Disney lot.
Meanwhile, ABC is facing flux in its daytime lineup, most of which originates in New York. The network recently moved Michael Strahan from “Live” to “Good Morning America.” The search for a co-host for Kelly Ripa on “Live” continues. ABC News controls “GMA” as well as “The View,” while the syndicated “Live” originates from ABC owned-and-operated station WABC-TV.