Charter Communications has hired TV industry veteran Julia Franz as Head of Development and Production for Spectrum Originals. It is the first major programming executive hire for Katherine Pope, Head of Original Content, to whom Franz will report. She will be based in Los Angeles.
In the newly created role, Franz will oversee the development and production of Charter’s upcoming slate of original series for Spectrum. She’ll also work alongside Pope to manage the content partnerships with Viacom and AMC. The company has been bulking up on original scripted series, including its first official pickup, L.A.’s Finest.
“Julia is a seasoned industry veteran with over 20 years of relevant experience, and a successful track record of creating and producing original content,” said Pope. “She is an incredibly well-respected executive who brings intelligence, humanity and creativity to everything she does, and we are excited to have her join our Originals team.”
Franz previously worked as a creative consultant for Platform One Media and STX Entertainment where she also served as an Executive Producer on State of Affairs. Franz spent 15 years at The Walt Disney Company where she served in a number of roles, including five years as EVP, overseeing both comedy and drama development and current programming for ABC Studios and predecessor Touchstone Television. While at Disney, some of the series she oversaw or helped develop included Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, Scrubs, Desperate Housewives and Criminal Minds. She also spent two years under an overall producing deal at Sony Pictures Television as a partner at Jamie Tarses’ FanFare.
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