ABC ups Leifer

By Paige Albiniak
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

After the success of ABC's Tuesday-night comedies, Stephanie Leifer has been
promoted to senior vice president of comedy programming, said Susan Lyne,
president of ABC Entertainment, Wednesday.

This season, Leifer oversaw the development of Tuesday-night lineup 8
Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, Life with Bonnie and
Less Than Perfect and midseason entries Lost at Home and
Regular Joe.

"Stephanie took the reins of ABC's comedy department early this year, and her
steady hand and great creative instincts brought us our strongest comedy lineup
in years," Lyne said. "Our success on Tuesday nights this fall is due largely to
her leadership."

Leifer was named VP of comedy development for the network in July
1999 and was responsible for developing According to Jim, The Job
and The George Lopez Show. Prior to that, she had been executive director of ABC
comedy series since July 1998.

Leifer came to ABC in January 1994 as an assistant to the VP of
movies and miniseries, and she has been rapidly promoted through the
ranks.

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.