Feature filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld is no longer represented by bicoastal Coppos Films for spots….Director Branson Veal, most recently affiliated with cYclops productions, New York, has joined Ace Entertainment, Los Angeles, for commercials…. Bicoastal Partizan Entertainment has signed director Paul Fedor….Independent Artists, New York, has added director Julian Griffiths….Dallas-based director Craig McCord has Brand New Shoes….Bob Samuel, who exited his executive producer’s post at Coppos Films earlier this year, has moved into the strategic management and personal consulting business….Betty Meadows, formerly senior producer at Campbell-Ewald/West, Los Angeles, has been named executive producer at Hollywood-based editorial house Rye Films….Alana Rothlein, executive producer/partner at Coral Gables, Fla.-based Falcon Productions since ’86, has left the company. She has formed her own venture, Envision It Inc., Miami Beach, which will provide production services, management consulting and strategic marketing to production-related companies and ad agencies….Pat Cunningham, former vice chairman/chief creative officer worldwide at N.W. Ayer & Partners, New York, has joined BBDO Houston in the newly created position of executive creative director…. Mixer/sound designer Dave Leffel has left Chicago-based Skyview Studios and joined Chicago Recording Company….
HBO Inks Two-Year First-Look Deal With Sharon Horgan and Her Production Company Merman
HBO has signed a two-year first-look television deal with BAFTA-winning and Emmy®-nominated actor, writer, and producer Sharon Horgan (“Bad Sisters,” “Catastrophe”) and her multi award-winning production company Merman. HBO has also given a straight-to-series order for a new original comedy series, the first project under this deal, from Horgan and produced by Merman, with Horgan serving as writer, star, and executive producer.
This comedy series follows a 50-year-old divorcee’s search for sex and love while juggling caring for her ailing parents and parenting her should-be grown up son.
Amy Gravitt, executive VP, HBO & Max Comedy Programming, said, “We’re thrilled to be reunited with Sharon. Her willingness to offer up her own experiences through the characters she creates makes us all feel a little less lonely, that is what sets her comedy apart so brilliantly. She also has such a sharp eye for material and a strong desire to shepherd other people’s stories, we’re looking forward to the new talent she will bring into the fold.”
Horgan said, “I’m so happy to once again be working with Casey [Bloys], Amy, Francesca [Orsi] and the team at HBO, and really excited that Merman get to continue to tell stories for a company that’s been home to some of the most iconic television shows ever created.”
Horgan has created and starred in such series as “Pulling,” “Catastrophe,” “Motherland,” “Amandaland” and BAFTA and Peabody winning series “Bad Sisters,” which recently released its second season. She received Emmy® nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (“Catastrophe”), Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (“Bad... Read More