KARA BUCKLEY (VP of Television) recently joined the team at Searchlight Television. Buckley was most recently Director of Programming for Original Series at HBO, where she worked on drama series such as SHARP OBJECTS, BIG LITTLE LIES, THE DEUCE, GAME OF THRONES and HERE AND NOW. She also worked on Damon Lindelof’s WATCHMEN pilot, currently in production, and developed Jane Goldman and George R.R. Martin’s GAME OF THRONES prequel, which was picked up to pilot. Prior to working at HBO, Buckley worked at Legendary TV and William Morris Endeavor.
Fox Searchlight Pictures’ TV division is filing out its ranks. The new arm of the company has tapped Kara Buckley and Danny Samit as VPs of television production. They will report to presidents of film and TV production David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield in Los Angeles.
The specialty film label formed its TV division, Searchlight Television, in April. Described at the time as a 360-degree hub for creative talent, the venture is intended to broaden the variety of projects produced under the Searchlight banner, which normally finances, produces and acquires motion pictures as a unit of 20th Century Fox Film.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kara and Danny to the Searchlight team. They are two of the most dynamic young stars in the business. Each brings unique work and life experiences that, combined with their deep relationships across the creative content landscape, make them tremendous additions to the Searchlight family,” Greenfield and Greenbaum said Tuesday in a joint statement.
“I am honored to join Fox Searchlight Television, a new endeavor that combines two of my favorite things: Fox Searchlight and Television,” said Samit. “The quality of storytelling at Searchlight is unparalleled. Eight years after coming to Fox, I’m excited to finally be a member of the Searchlight family and collaborate with amazing colleagues and artists as we expand into a new forum.”
Said Buckley: “I’m incredibly excited by the opportunity to help build the television division of this esteemed, groundbreaking company. David Greenbaum, Matthew Greenfield and the entire Searchlight team have set the gold standard for feature film making, and I look forward to learning from and working with all of them as we try to do the same in television.”
For four years, Samit worked as director of current series at FX Networks, covering drama, comedy and animation. In the role, he worked on Atlanta’s first two seasons, as well as AMERICAN HORROR STORY, LEGION and SNOWFALL. Prior to FX, Samit — who was formerly Peter Rice’s assistant — worked for Fox International Channels in Hong Kong, Fox Broadcasting Company and UTA.
Buckley, for her part, was most recently director of programming for original series at HBO. While there, she worked dramas such as SHARP OBJECTS, BIG LITTLE LIES, THE DEUCE and GAME OF THRONES. She also worked on Damon Lindelof’s WATCHMEN pilot, which is currently in production, and developed Jane Goldman and George R.R. Martin’s GAME OF THRONES prequel, which was recently picked up to pilot. Prior to HBO, Buckley worked at Legendary TV and William Morris Endeavor.
Searchlight Television will aim to produce original material in addition to utilizing the studio’s library of feature films for adaptation in broadcast television, cable and streaming, with forays into scripted series, limited series and documentaries. It has yet to launch its first project.
Fox Searchlight Launches TV Division; David Greenbaum, Matthew Greenfield Upped To Production Presidents For Film, TV | Deadline | April 11, 2018
Capitalizing on its staggering Oscar season success, Fox Searchlight Pictures Presidents Nancy Utley and Steve Gilula are branching into the television business. They’ve launched Searchlight Television, making the company a 360-degree hub for creative talent and broadening the variety of projects produced under the Searchlight banner. David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield have been promoted to Presidents of Production for Film and Television. They add Searchlight Television to their current responsibilities including all aspects of production for the company. They are rising stars who were in high demand after the Oscar success of THE SHAPE OF WATER and THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI.
This move indicates how highly regarded Searchlight is, and how it will figure into future plans when and if Disney completes its acquisition of Fox. Sources said that the intention is to lend the Searchlight taste maker brand to a number of series projects, some of which will be serviced to the Hulu streaming platform, of which Disney will be majority owner after the merger and is envisioned as the streaming landing place for adult-themed fare. Others expected that the new Disney streaming platform will also be a viable potential landing platform for the output. The studio has been looking for executives and staffing up. Those production executives will continue report to Greenfield and Greenbaum.
Searchlight Television will produce original material as well as utilize the studio’s rich library of feature films for adaptation in broadcast television, cable and streaming with forays into scripted series, limited series, documentaries and more, the company said in confirming the new company to Deadline.
Said Gilula and Utley, “At such an exciting moment for the company, we feel it is the perfect time to provide new avenues for visionary and innovative talent as well as to recognize the contributions of David and Matthew.”
Said Stacey Snider, Chairman and CEO, Twentieth Century Fox Film, “The relationships that the Searchlight team forges with talent are deep and abiding. It only makes sense to extend these relationships into television so Searchlight can continue to tell great stories on every platform.”
Said Peter Rice, President, 21st Century Fox, and Chairman and CEO, Fox Networks Group, “At such an exciting time for storytelling, all the Fox channels and studios are thrilled to be collaborating with Searchlight as it expands its unique brand of groundbreaking excellence into television.”
Said Greenfield and Greenbaum, “Searchlight has always been dedicated to bringing the unique stories of passionate creators to audiences worldwide. This evolution allows us to expand upon that mission, and provides our talent new opportunities to tell their stories in the widest variety of creative outlets, all the while maintaining the safe haven and dedicated creative approach that is Searchlight’s hallmark.”
In the Fox portfolio, Searchlight Television will join another production division focused on premium fare for cable and streaming networks, including Hulu, Fox 21 TV Studios, which is part of 20th Century Fox Television. Fox in the past also had two cable/streaming production units, Fox 21 and Fox TV Studios, which merged in 2014.
Greenbaum has been a senior executive at Fox Searchlight for eight years and Greenfield for 11. They shepherded the Best Picture winner THE SHAPE OF WATER with director Guillermo del Toro, the Martin McDonagh-directed THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI which won Oscars for Fran McDormand and Sam Rockwell, as well as FSL’s current Wes Anderson pic ISLE OF DOGS. Their past projects include Alexander Payne’s THE DESCENDANTS, Jean-Marc Vallee’s WILD, Nicole Holofcener’s ENOUGH SAID and Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris’ BATTLE OF THE SEXES. Upcoming are the Yorgos Lanthimos-directed THE FAVOURITE with Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman; Melissa McCarthy-starrer CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME, and David Lowery’s OLD MAN AND THE GUN with Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek; and BEAST OF THE SOUTHERN WILD-helmer Benh Zeitlin’s Wendy.
As if the world of television hasn’t had enough shake-ups lately, a potential power player has emerged in the prestige TV game: Fox Searchlight has launched a new TV division. The indie film distributor behind recent hits THE SHAPE OF WATER and THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI announced Wednesday that Searchlight executives David Greenbaum and Matthew
Searchlight Television intends to both produce original content and mine the studio’s film library for potential broadcast, cable, and streaming adaptation fodder—including scripted series and documentaries. As for distribution, this is where things get interesting: Disney has already announced plans to create its own streaming platform—and with this new production company under its wing in addition to plans to acquire FX, it will give the platform adult-skewing prestige fare to add to their offerings. That might really rankle Netflix, which will lose the Disney content it got in a 2012 agreement, and face even more competition in the prestige TV space, where it has competed since HOUSE OF CARDS launched in 2013. Netflix, it bears remembering, still has yet to secure a major award at the Emmys—neither for outstanding drama or comedy series, or outstanding lead actor or actress. And Searchlight, while unproven in television, has been on a virtually unparalleled winning streak at the Oscars in recent years, boasting three of the last five best-picture winners.
Meanwhile, Disney—one of only a handful of companies with a budget hefty enough to outbid the streamer for projects and talent, should it desire to do so—has promised that its streaming service will be “substantially cheaper” than Netflix. All of this might be why Netflix has adopted a ruthless approach of its own, snatching up Fox and Disney’s most prolific creators—Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphywith hefty overall deals. With Kenya Barris plotting his exit from ABC, it will be interesting to see if Searchlight Television could potentially be appealing to the BLACK-ISH creator—or, at the very least, use its filmmaker-friendly history to lure other TV creators who have been looking for the auteur treatment themselves.
Meanwhile, the prestige TV field has perhaps never been more crowded—and success as a film studio does not guarantee impact of a TV extension. Take, for instance, Paramount Network, which launched to some fanfare earlier this year with series including WACO and a stalled HEATHERS adaptation, but so far has not made much of a mark on the wider landscape. And then there’s Apple, a new player that could make up for what it lacks in programming experience with its exceptionally deep pockets—which, for what its worth, they’re already upping the ante when it comes to talent salaries. The bottom line? The success of Searchlight Television is far from guaranteed—but in this cutthroat environment, it might be one of the few studios with the development chops and formidable budget required to compete.