Charter Communications confirmed its plan to shutter its four-year-old production unit, Spectrum Originals, following the recent exit of its longtime top executive, Katherine Pope, who left to head Sony Pictures Television in July. 

Deadline first reported Charter's decision, and Charter confirmed the move. 

The No. 2 U.S. cable operator launched Spectrum Originals in 2018 with the intention of creating must-see content only available with Charter cable TV service. It made a splashy hire in Pope, known for developing hits including Heroes, Friday Night Lights, 30 Rock, and The Office at NBC, as well as New Girl while serving Peter Chernin's Twentieth Century Fox-based production company, Chernin Entertainment

Pope took a big swing early on, acquiring LA's Finest, a spin-off of the buddy-cop feature film action comedy series Bad Boys. The series, which stars Jessica Alba and Gabrielle Union, had been rejected by NBC, but Pope's team ultimately couldn't find any traction with it, either. 

Spectrum Originals also developed a revival of Mad About You, as well as Joe Pickett, The Bite, and Paradise Lost.

In March, the unit ordered dramatic comedy Panhandle, and it's set to run George & Tammy, a miniseries based on Tammy Wynette and George Jones, starring Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon, on Paramount Network and Paramount Plus. 

Charter is still working out how it will handle ongoing projects as it winds down the venture.

Spectrum Originals carved out a reputation for cost-efficient production models, such as international co-productions. But ultimately, the rising cost of producing TV shows and movies post-COVID -- coupled with Charter's movement away from linear video interest -- was enough to convince Charter it was time to get out of the original content business. 

Sony Pictures Television said it has named veteran TV executive Katherine Pope as president of its Sony Pictures Television Studios, overseeing all domestic scripted productions. Pope, who has been head of original content for Charter Communications since 2018, starts her new position on August 22.

Pope will report to Ravi Ahuja, chairman, Global Television Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment Corporate Development.

“Katherine has proven herself as a dynamic leader with impeccable taste and the ability to successfully develop and produce content that resonates with audiences,“ Ahuja said in a statement. “She is an excellent fit for this role and I’m delighted that she has chosen to join us at SPT.

“Katherine brings vast experience that will help us build on the overall strength of our global production capabilities at the studio,” he continued. “With Katherine leading our scripted production business in the U.S. and Wayne Garvie leading our international production business, we have an incredible leadership team dedicated to working with the industry’s top talent to produce undeniable content around the world.”

Also: Five Spot Conversation With Katherine Pope 

Pope has more than two decades of experience in the TV business, including a 10-year run with NBC/NBCUniversal Television Studios in a number of leadership roles, including executive VP of the network and president of the studio. She developed such hit shows as Heroes, Friday Night Lights, 30 Rock, and The Office. Pope later launched the television division at Peter Chernin’s Twentieth Century Fox-based production company, Chernin Entertainment, overseeing all creative development and production. She also executive produced several series, including Fox comedy New Girl.

She was tapped to run Charter’s original content division, Spectrum Originals, in 2018, curating a slate of premium series such as the upcoming A Spy Among Friends, starring Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce, as well as Beacon 23, starring Lena Headey and Stephan James; Panhandle, starring Luke Kirby, and George & Tammy, starring Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon. She also greenlighted L.A.’s Finest, starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba, the limited series revival of Mad About You, and Joe Pickett, which became Spectrum Originals’ most-watched series.

Pope also served as executive producer, along with Elizabeth Meriwether, of the Emmy-nominated Hulu limited series The Dropout, based on the podcast of the same name and starring Amanda Seyfried.

In May, Pope was named one of Multichannel News's Wonder Women of Los Angeles.

“I am thrilled to be joining the incredibly talented team Tony and Ravi have assembled at SPT — a studio with the strength, expertise and independence to lead amidst the challenges of a rapidly evolving marketplace,” Pope said in a statement. “I have long admired the creativity and high-quality work SPT consistently produces and can’t wait to explore all the opportunities that lie ahead. I am excited to step onto the lot and get started!”

No word on who Charter will name as Pope’s replacement, but sources familiar with the operator said they are working on transition plans. ■ 

In a career spanning more than two decades, Katherine Pope long ago cemented her place in the annals of TV history, helping develop and launch such iconic series as The Office, House, New Girl and 30 Rock through her relationships with studios and programmers big [NBCUniversal] and small [Chernin Entertainment and Studio 8 Entertainment]. 

Now, as head of Spectrum Originals since 2018, Pope faces a new challenge, developing original content for Charter Communications’s exclusive programming arm. It’s a challenge Pope’s boss, Charter senior executive VP David Ellen, said she has been more than up to.

Also: Wonder Women of Los Angeles 2022: Hollywood Heroes

“In a few short years, she and her small team have taken their deep industry knowledge and created a steady stream of high-quality scripted series available exclusively for our Spectrum viewers,” Ellen said. “With these originals, she has developed a truly differentiated experience for our highly engaged audience and exceeded our expectations at every turn.”

But challenges are nothing new for the seasoned TV executive. Throughout her career Pope has taken chances on programs that seemed well below the radar but later attracted huge audiences. At Spectrum, she heads a relatively new original programming unit but has already scored some wins with shows like Joe Pickett, watched by more than 1 million unique households in its first month, making it the most popular show in Spectrum’s short history.

A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, Pope had brief stints at ABC News and VH1 before landing a job as an associate at NBC in 1998. She stayed there 10 years, rising to executive VP of the network and president of NBC Television Studios, helping to launch shows for both the NBC broadcast network [The Office] and Universal Studios [House], programs that weren’t hits from the beginning. Pope credited a host of other executives who kept those series and others on the air despite ratings pressure. 

“Certainly both House and The Office had amazing champions who stuck their necks out to keep them because they believed in them —- I’m paging you, [former Fox Broadcasting president] Gail Berman and [former NBC president of primetime development] Kevin Reilly,” Pope said. “That said, the worst thing about a show being canceled quickly is you don’t get to continue collaborating with people you love (RIP Ben & Kate!).”

While Pope had a string of successes at NBC, she got the ax in December 2008, along with a handful of other execs, after a disappointing fall lineup with shows championed by her then-boss Ben Silverman, who was let go a few months later. That just presented another challenge Pope quickly overcame, joining former News Corp. chief operating officer Peter Chernin’s Chernin Entertainment in 2009 to head his fledgling TV unit. 

There her run continued with New Girl, which ran for seven seasons on Fox, and others. While Chernin was a well-known, successful TV executive — he ran News Corp., which included Fox, several cable channels and the 20th Century Fox studio for 20 years — Pope said his company was still a departure from the big studio environment. 

“What was fun was Peter was leaving a gigantic job, and we didn’t even really have offices yet, and we would just talk about what we wanted to make and what the company could be and where the business was going,” Pope said. “It was a really special time.  I’m so grateful that I got fired from NBC when I did, and that I got to work with Peter and the team.”

Starting All Over Again

Pope moved to Studio 8 Entertainment in 2015 after Chernin’s development deal with Fox expired, helping to launch its independent TV division. Three years later, she joined Spectrum Originals, for a chance, she said, to build something “from scratch.”

“From the beginning, we said we were going to take a portfolio approach and offer shows that appeal to different segments of our subscriber base. And that is what we have done,” Pope said. “Our viewers are smart and love TV so we just want to be sure we’re making quality content that will keep them engaged and coming back to watch our shows, and we’ve been able to do that thus far.”

At Spectrum Originals, Pope has developed shows in several different genres — action (L.A.’s Finest), drama/thriller (Long Slow Exhale), mysteries (Paradise Lost and Eden), and comedies (The Bite and Mad About You). Viewership and engagement has been strong and programming enjoys a nine-month exclusive window for Spectrum customers, moving on to outlets like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.

Pope said more is in the pipeline, including A Spy Among Friends (starring Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce), and Joe Pickett is about to start production on season two. “We’re going to keep doing what we are doing which thus far has proven to be successful,” Pope said. ■

Katherine Pope knows her way around content. After two years as head of Charter Communications’s Spectrum Originals, Pope has been integral in the successful launch of the service, attracting top talent and producing an eclectic array of shows. Fox revealed that it will air Spectrum series L.A’s Finest in primetime this fall. Pope brought a strong resume to Charter, helping to develop iconic shows like The Office and 30 Rock over a decade at NBC and NBCUniversal Television, where she served as executive VP of the network and studio president, leaving in 2009 to create the television unit at Chernin Entertainment. Prior to joining Charter in January 2018, she launched Studio 8’s independent television unit. Pope took some time out to answer a few questions from senior content producer, finance Mike Farrell.

How are you managing in the lockdown? Well, predominantly my family, friends and colleagues are healthy and safe, so I feel very lucky. Though all of our day-to-day lives have, like most people’s, been upended, our business has been orienting to the new normal. Production on several of our shows had wrapped prior to the lockdown, and our primary focus at the moment is preparing to launch the second season of L.A.’s Finest on June 8. We are basically focusing on development, launch and post for our shows, since production is paused for the time being. There is plenty to do, but it’s not the same without being able to shoot.

Has the pandemic had any impact on any new shows you had planned? We were prepping a few new series that were scheduled to start shooting later this year. I can’t say how these events will impact our slate going forward. I wish I could … I know all of us find this uncertainty unsettling. But the most important thing is that when we come back to production, we do so thoughtfully and with safety as our North Star. In the interim, we have been focusing on getting ahead with scripts, exploring casting, getting more deeply into tone and look discussions and looking at every production scenario under the sun, so we will be able to hit the ground running as soon as we are able. I’m really looking forward to that day. I plan to hit the ground sprinting.

Early on, the idea was to release a couple of new originals each year. Is that still theplan? Yes, this is still the plan. We take a portfolio approach: We are trying to develop shows that appeal to different segments of our subscriber base. It’s been really fun to learn what our subscribers like to watch — who is watching which show and when and how quickly. If you look at what we have on the platform today, there isn’t one type of show. We aren’t looking for every show to be loved by every subscriber, I think that often takes a toll on authenticity and specificity.

How has viewership been at Spectrum Originals? We have seen increases in our viewership. I hope we’re helping entertain people who are homebound. We’re also continuing to see really strong completion rates for our shows. Manhunt: Deadly Games in particular has incredible completion numbers. Essentially, if you watch the first episode, you will watch all of them. It’s 10 hours total, and a huge majority of people are watching the whole season in 24 hours!

Does Charter see original programming mostly as a retention tool? Our foremost goal is to differentiate our video product and drive subscriber retention by offering premium original series exclusively to Spectrum video subscribers on-demand and ad-free. ... For us, it’s a simple proposition: the more value we can pack into our existing video subscription (at no additional charge) that subscribers can’t get anywhere else, the more likely they are to stay with us. 

BONUS FIVE

All-time favorite show? I hate this question because there are too many! But, dagger to the throat, I would say The Americans will always have my heart.

Favorite podcast?The Daily

Destination on your bucket list? Anywhere sounds pretty great.

Favorite app? Smoked salmon gravlax. Kidding. It used to be Waze, but, you know.

Book on your nightstand? A few novels I’ve read recently that I would recommend are Sing Unburied Sing, Pachinko,Long Bright River — I love detective novels.