Alphabet splits up
ABC cleaves current programming department
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Former VH1 exec Kim Rozenfeld has been recruited to serve as senior VP of current drama programming, while Paramount-based Kevin Plunkett is coming on board as VP of current comedy programming. Both men will report to ABC exec VP Francie Calfo, who will now oversee current in addition to her previous responsibilities running development for the net.
Changes come in the wake of Lance Taylor ankling his post as head of current for ABC (Daily Variety, Aug. 5).
Under the new structure, Rozenfeld and Plunkett will both oversee staffs of two or three execs who will focus on either drama or comedy programs. Frosh skeins have traditionally been supervised by ABC's development execs, but with the new structure, Calfo hopes to "make the transition (to the current department) sooner."
Calfo said ABC's recent success with scripted skeins "Desperate Housewives," "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy" has underscored the need to beef up the current division.
"Once you have hit shows, you realize how critical it is," she said.
As for Plunkett and Rozenfeld, Calfo said both men "bring something unique to the network.
"Kim has been an executive at the network and studio level, and he's also been a producer and director," Calfo said. "He has walked in the shoes of his studio counterparts and the producers with whom he'll work, making him an ideal partner for them."
Rozenfeld quietly left his post as VP of series development and programming for VH1 this summer, having helped form the cabler's in-house think tank The Launch Pad. He developed (and exec produced) the net's about-to-bow buzzworthy skeins "Home James" and "Breaking Bonaduce," as well as "Bands Reunited" and "Military Diaries."
Before VH1, he was a comedy producer/helmer, working on Alphabet skeins such as "Two Guys and a Girl" and "Dinosaurs." During the 1990s, he also worked as VP of comedy for ABC.
'Passion and instinct'
Calfo noted that Plunkett has "worked extensively in comedy, and I was impressed with the reputation he has among the networks, studios and writer/producers with whom he's worked. Comedy needs somebody at its helm with his passion and instinct."
Plunkett spent the last three years as exec director for comedy development at Par, working on skeins such as "Everybody Hates Chris," "Out of Practice" and the ABC laffer "It's All Relative."
He had previously spent three years developing programs for ABC Family (and predecessor Fox Family Channel), and another three years at the Disney Channel.
