Nugent Jamieson
A&E has found its drama guru in the WB senior veep Tana Nugent Jamieson.
Cabler is in final negotiations to name Frog's longform/current series exec head of all scripted programming. In that position she'd be responsible for the development of a "Sopranos" companion show or two, among other things. Mob drama is slated to make its off-net debut on A&E in early 2007.
Los Angeles-based Nugent Jamieson will establish a West Coast office for the cabler and report to A&E exec VP of programming Bob DeBitetto. Net's Nancy Dubuc will continue to run alternative and nonfiction programming.
A&E declined comment.
Nugent Jamieson emerged as the lead contender for the job in recent weeks. Her experience straddles both the longform and series worlds: She's run the WB's movie development, including the "American Girl" franchise and, more recently, skeins "Everwood," "Summerland," "Related," "Jack & Bobby" and "Bedford Diaries." Before the WB, Jamieson was a movies veep at TBS.
Her priority will be to kick-start drama development for A&E in time for the launch of "The Sopranos," but she'll also run movies/minis for A&E. Cabler is just beginning to look into producing big events along the lines of "The 4400," which aired first as a limited series, or "Into the West." Nugent Jamieson will head that effort.
DeBitetto has been adamant about relaunching the channel's scripted biz since his arrival in 2002. He and A&E Television Networks prexy Abbe Raven have been prepping to re-enter the genre for some time, buying up reruns of critically acclaimed dramas including "24" and "Crossing Jordan" (both on the air) and "CSI: Miami" (premiering this fall), while continuing to produce telepics like "Flight 93" and lower profile co-productions like the Brit spy drama "MI-5." Third season of that show will bow alongside "CSI: Miami" in fourth quarter.
During last year's upfronts, Raven went so far as to promise advertisers that with "The Sopranos" in tow, AETN's flagship channel would soon break into cable's top five networks.
For its part, HBO launched "Deadwood" leading out of "The Sopranos" and is hoping to use the launch pad again next month for "Big Love," a new one-hour about polygamy starring Bill Paxton.
A&E owes its current success to a fleet of reality shows including "Growing Up Gotti," "Airline" and "Dog the Bounty Hunter." But execs hope to use original drama series to help evolve A&E's brand beyond its former artsy niche. Channel hasn't made waves on that front since 2002's detective series "Nero Wolfe" and Sidney Lumet's "100 Centre Street," both of which were cut after season two and declining ratings.
Before TBS, Nugent Jamieson exec produced projects for NBC Studios, MCA/Universal, Alliance Atlantis, Dick Clark Prods. and Kushner-Locke Prods.
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