HBO Max, the new direct to consumer offering from WarnerMedia, has entered into a two year first-look overall deal with showrunner and executive producer Sam Dean (Love Is Blind).
In addition to Dean’s future assignments as showrunner for HBO MAX projects, her deal includes first-look rights on all her owned or controlled concepts for her unscripted programming for all platforms. She recently wrapped production as showrunner for the upcoming HBO Max unscripted series 12 Dates of Christmas, which will debut later this year.
“Sam is an outstanding unscripted storyteller and a top-tier showrunner,” said Jennifer O’Connell, executive VP of original non-fiction and kids programming. “After working with Sam on our reality rom-com, 12 Dates of Christmas, it was clear that her ability to tell stories with heart, humor, and a wink to the audience made her a perfect fit for HBO Max.”
Dean stated, “I am really looking forward to working with HBO Max; it’s a new and ambitious platform with an unlimited appetite to create fresh and innovative content, yet it also brings with it Warner Media’s history of excellence that has continually kept them at the forefront of creativity and storytelling. It’s a great time to get involved as an unscripted producer. I feel blessed to be joining an incredibly strong and talented team, who I admire greatly and have loved collaborating with on 12 Dates of Christmas.”
Dean has produced on internationally renowned formats and franchises across a variety of unscripted genres, including social experiments, dating and competition formats. Just prior to joining HBO Max, Dean was an EP at Kinetic Content, where she specialized in show running new formats, such as Netflix’s breakout hit Love Is Blind, ABC’s The Taste and multiple series of Married and First Sight and various spin-off shows within that franchise.
Dean is represented by Alex Davis, Esq. from TheHollywoodLawyer.com
Director Jun Diaz Joins m ss ng p eces For U.S. Commercial Representation
Production company m ss ng p eces has added Jun Diaz to its directorial roster for U.S. commercial representation. Diaz has helmed dozens of campaigns for brands including the NFL, IKEA, BMW, Samsung, Converse, Mastercard, Seamless, Heineken, eBay, and the Ad Council. He also created a series of captivating films for the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CDFA) Awards.
Diaz’s inspiring PSA entitled “Make Them Visible” for the NYC Rescue Mission was an experiment featuring footage of unsuspecting people walking by their family members, all dressed to appear homeless. The footage was then shown to the unaware people, leaving many speechless and emotionally moved to tears. Profoundly affecting, the PSA reached two million views in three days and earned a spot on YouTube’s Top 20 Worldwide.
Prior to joining m ss ng p eces, Diaz was most recently represented by production company O Positive.
Half Filipino and half Japanese, Diaz was born in Tokyo. He grew up traveling to various parts of Southeast Asia and East Africa with his parents and four siblings before moving to the U.S. to pursue his dream of becoming a director. Forging his own path in the industry, Diaz was an editor for over a decade before transitioning to directing. He gained widespread acclaim for his work in commercials and feature films, with editing credits including American Movie, Home Movie, and the critically acclaimed The Kid Stays In The Picture, for which he received an ACE Eddie Award nomination for Best Edited Documentary Film.
“Kate, Ari, Brian, and the whole m ss ng p eces team have built a community,” said Diaz. “Creatively, I mesh so well with them. In some ways, I feel it’s a new beginning for me, because you can never... Read More