Conde Nast Entertainment Hires ABC’s Jonathan Koa to Head Scripted Programming | Variety | November 12, 2015
Condé Nast Entertainment’s hiring spree continues, with the publishing house’s video division announcing the appointment of Jonathan Koa as senior VP of scripted programming.
Koa, who starts at CNÉ Nov. 16, previously was executive director of comedy at ABC, where he oversaw production and development of the Alphabet’s comedy series. Prior to ABC, Koa worked at NBCUniversal Television Studios, where he developed projects for numerous broadcast and cable networks including Fox’s “House,” USA Network’s “Monk” and NBC’s “Parenthood.”
In his new role at Conde Nast Entertainment, Koa will be responsible for developing and producing scripted television projects. He reports to CNÉ president Dawn Ostroff.
“Jon’s broad experience working at both a network and a studio gives him a unique perspective of a very dynamic marketplace,” Ostroff said in announcing the hire. “His extensive relationships with top talent, along with his creative instincts, will be a tremendous advantage for us in developing scripted programming from the wealth of material that comes from our magazines, digital platforms and archives.”
While at ABC, Koa worked with comedy talent including Amy Poehler, Greg Daniels, Bill Lawrence, James Burrows and Emily Kapnek.
“CNÉ has quickly become a source for unique and compelling television projects,” Koa said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to jumping into the vast archives of content and working with the iconic Condé Nast brands to develop series that really stand out.”
Prior to joining the entertainment biz, Koa worked in politics for U.S. Senators Paul Simon and Dianne Feinstein as well as the Democratic National Committee.
CNÉ has a first-look deal for scripted TV programming for both broadcast and cable at 20th Century Fox Television and currently has scripted projects set up at networks including ABC, FOX, HBO and AMC. In addition, the group has four unscripted shows in production or on the air: “Vanity Fair Confidential” for Investigation Discovery, “The Fashion Fund” and “The New Yorker Presents” for Amazon Studios, and “Geeks Who Drink” for Syfy. Additionally, CNÉ has two feature films in production, “Army of One” starring Nicolas Cage and Russell Brand, and “China: Through the Looking Glass,” which follows the creation of the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute’s annual Gala and exhibition.
In the last few months, CNÉ has hired several execs to fill out its ranks, including Joy Marcus, former Dailymotion U.S. general manager, as G.M. of digital video.