Lionsgate Television said it has optioned journalist Adam Ciralsky’s recent Vanity Fair article on the work of the U.S. Special envoy for hostage affairs and plans to develop a series created by Alexi Hawley, showrunner of The Rookie, a Lionsgate show that airs on ABC.

The series will follow one fictionalized hostage situation each season.

“In just the past few days, we’ve seen this piece resonate with Vanity Fair readers globally,” said Scott Herbst, executive VP and Head of Scripted Development for Lionsgate Television. “We’ve assembled a top-tier creative team to bring audiences a series inspired by the team that has impacted the lives of numerous hostages.”

In addition to Hawley, whose Perfectman Pictures will produce the series alongside P3 Media, Ciralsky and Gene Klein will executive produce.

“It’s an honor to create a show based on Adam’s riveting article, fictionalizing the high-stakes, exhaustive and emotional efforts to bring America’s hostages home,” said Hawley.    

Ciralsky and Klein produce The Recruit under their P3 Media banner. The company’s upcoming feature documentary Take No Prisoners focuses on Washington’s efforts to free Americans held hostage abroad. 

“Gene and I are thrilled to be reunited with Alexi and our talented partners at Lionsgate,” said Ciralsky.  “Having collaborated on two amazing seasons of The Recruit, we know Alexi to be a singular voice and the perfect person to bring this show to life.”    

Lionsgate Television also recently said it is developing a series based on the gambling scandal surrounding baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani and the first English-language series adaptation of Park Chan-wook’s acclaimed film Oldboy. 

Lionsgate Television said it signed a new multiyear employment agreement with executive VP, worldwide production, Gary Goodman.

Goodman is in charge of production of Lionsgate’s scripted series and its TV production facilities in Yonkers, New York; Atlanta; and one that is about to open in Newark, New Jersey.

“Gary’s production leadership has been a vital part of our success for nearly 20 years, successfully guiding us through the pandemic and last year’s double strikes with minimum interruption and downtime,” said Lionsgate Television group chair and chief creative officer Kevin Beggs and vice chair Sandra Stern. “He has been a key driver in expanding our production footprint with new studio facilities and will continue to be a valuable member of our television leadership team and a source of innovative production expertise moving forward.”

TV production has grown to a $1.5 billion business for Lionsgate, and Goodman has been head of production as the company has turned out series including Mad Men, Orange Is the New Black, Mythic Quest, the Power franchise for Starz and The Continental, which recently streamed on Peacock and Prime Video.

In all the company has 20 shares in production this year, including Ghosts on CBS and The Rookie on ABC.

He is currently leading production on Extended Family for Peacock, The Studio for Apple TV Plus and The Hunting Wives and Spartacus for Starz.

Lionsgate Television said it signed a multi-year first-look deal with film and TV producer Michael London.

Groundswell Productions, run by London and president of production Shannon Gaulding, will produce scripted series under the agreement. Groundswell is currently in production of season six of Snowfall for FX and Greatest Hits for Fox Searchlight.

Under the new deal, London and Gaulding are working on a limited scripted series about Jerry Fallwell Jr., based on a story in Vanity Fair by Gabriel Sherman that was optioned by Lionsgate. Sherman is adapting the story and is an executive producer, along with London and Gaulding.

“Michael is not only a prolific producer with a track record of excellence across both film and television, but he is also an expert in bringing impactful stories to the screen. We have been such a fan of his from afar for too long and now we get to work together! We look forward to working with Groundswell Productions to create compelling and inspiring content for television audiences globally,” said Scott Herbst, head of scripted development and executive VP, Lionsgate TV.

Lionsgate has signed a series of deals with producers, including a recent agreement with Jenny McCarthy Walberg and Donnie Wahlberg. 

London launched Groundswell Productions after serving as Executive Vice President of Production at 20th Century Fox. He is also responsible for the films Sideways and Milk.

Groundswell’s other TV credits include Smilf, Confirmation, Magicians, Chance, The Astronaut’s Wives Club and Betas.

“There’s nothing better than having creative partners who are truly creative, as well as collaborative and smart. The Lionsgate team is all of those things and more. Shannon Gaulding and I are excited to jump into this new venture focusing on the kind of smart, singular, and entertaining television that both companies stand for,” said London.  ■

Lionsgate Television Group said it signed a new first-look producing deal with Le Train Train, the production company formed by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack.

Jones and McCormack will produce scripted television programming for a range of platforms.

The first show in the pipeline is Lovesick, which is in development as part of Lionsgate’s partnership with BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions. Lovesick is based on the U.K. romantic comedy series of the same name from Clerkenwell Films and Le Train Train is working with several producers from Clerkenwell and original series creator Tom Edge on the project.

“There aren’t many writer/producers like Rashida and Will who can master both an R-rated comedy ala Celeste and Jesse Forever and a G-rated masterpiece such as Toy Story 4.  We are looking forward to working with both of them to create more premium and compelling content for all types of viewers,” said Scott Herbst, head of scripted development and executive VP at Lionsgate Television.

With Le Train Train, McCormack and Jones have served as executive producers for four seasons of TNT’s dramedy Claws and AMC's Kevin Can F**k Himself

"We are thrilled to be in business with Lionsgate. Their imagination and blue sky thinking around what's possible in this rapidly changing landscape of television is incredibly exciting to us as creators and producers,” Jones and McCormack said. ■

Lionsgate executive Jared Goetz has left the company after bringing a gun to a company meeting.

Goetz was named president of North American Television Distribution at the company in 2017, where he oversaw content licensing across all platforms.

According to a statement from Goetz's attorney Bryan Freedman, the exec had "had his home burglarized and during the pandemic was attacked in his car while at a stop light."

The day of the incident Goetz told Freedman that he had planned to go to a shooting range after work and had the gun "properly and legally secured" in his car, which was a breach of company policy.

Read Freedman's full statement below:

“Jared had his home burglarized and during the pandemic was attacked in his car at while at a stop light on Reseda Boulevard. He owned a hand gun that was properly licensed. Consistent with past actions, he had plans to go to the shooting range after work and train with Officer Daryl Scoggins of the West Valley police department. As Lionsgate confirmed, this was a one time incident, wherein he never took the gun into the office nor did he remove it from the lock box in the car while he was at work. He never showed it to anyone nor did he threaten or let anyone even see it. It was properly and legally secured and there was no one else who had ever seen it- Jared has always been a model employee. He has never been involved in anything even close to disciplinary action in more than 25 years of working for companies He is well liked and an honorable person. He never intended in any way to make anyone uncomfortable nor did he do anything illegal- In fact, there are no allegations that he attempted to scare or threaten anyone. While he has reasons for self-protection, he is terribly sorry for this matter and realizes while the gun was properly secured in his vehicle, leaving it in his car in the parking lot was against company policy.

"He has had tremendous success while at Lionsgate which has led to him being approached with other incredible opportunities. He is focusing on those opportunities and wishes that this was not such a difficult and unsafe time for everyone.”

Prior to joining Lionsgate, Goetz served 22 years at the Walt Disney Company.

Rebecca Cutter, creator, writer and producer of Starz’ original series Hightown, signed a multi-year overall deal with Lionsgate Television.

The deal calls for Cutter to develop and produce scripted television series for Lionsgate across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms.

“Rebecca has a powerful creative voice and unique vision that embraces bold, provocative and exciting stories that are also empowering,” said Lionsgate executive VP, Television & Head of Development Scott Herbst. “We’re humbled that she’s chosen us as her creative home and look forward to working together on creating more premium content that resonates with television viewers everywhere.”

Hightown, produced by Lionsgate Television, was recently renewed for a second season by Starz. Lionsgate TV and Starz are both part of Lionsgate. 

Cutter was a producer and writer on Gotham, which aired on Fox. She was also a writer for The Mentalist.

“I’m thrilled to expand my partnership with the Lionsgate family, which truly encourages collaboration and enables storytellers to push the envelope through their content unapologetically,” said Cutter. “Together, we’ll continue to bring dynamic stories and multidimensional characters that challenge and excite television audiences.” 

Cutter is represented by both Rain Management Group (RMG) and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein.

Keep up with all the happenings from the TCA 2016 Winter Tour at ourTCA16 news site.

Pasadena, Calif. -- Pop has ordered up its second scripted comedy series, Traci From Nightcap (working title), starring Ali Wentworth and co-produced with network co-owner (with CBS) Lionsgate. Wentworth (Starz's Head Case) stars as producer of a late-night comedy series, fictionally titled The Night Cap With Jimmy, and each half-hour episode will feature real-life celebrities and a mixed cast of improvisational actors, the network said.

Pop president Brad Schwartz told Multichannel News recently the network wanted a second comedy to help fill out a night with Schitt's Creek, the comedy starring Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara (among others) that returns this March, though Traci From Nightcap will launch midway through the second season of Schitt's Creek. Lionsgate Television also has a great track record with comedies, including Weeds, Nurse Jackie, Casual and Deadbeat, Schwartz noted. Production is slated to begin this month in New York City.

Pop ordered 10 episodes. Wentworth is an executive producer, along with a pair of EPs from Chelsea Lately, Tom Brunelle and Brad Wollack; and Troy Miller, Lydia Tenaglia, Chris Collins and Craig Shepherd. 

Pop also confirmed that a capella singing docuseries Sing It On will return for an eight-episode second season.

Read more of MCN's interview with Schwartz in the current edition of the magazine at this link (subscription required).