Beers out as Lifetime VP

Movie head demotes self to consultancy

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

Lifetime movie topper Libby Beers is ankling the network, as the femme-centric cabler rethinks the department's structure.

Beers, who has served as senior VP of original movies at Lifetime, will now segue into a consultancy role at the channel. To fill her shoes, Lifetime Entertainment prexy Susanne Daniels is said to be looking for an exec with a financial/deal-making background in order to pursue co-production partners and other pacts.

Under Beers' watch, Lifetime ran hit telepics including "The Fantasia Barrino Story: Life is Not a Fairy Tale" and "Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy." "Mastectomy" scored a 2007 Emmy nom last week for outstanding made-for TV movie.

Daniels said she was pleased that Beers would "remain an essential member of the team as a consultant."

"Libby's sharp creative instincts brought to life entertaining and moving Lifetime original movies that have resonated with viewers and critics alike, making us the top-rated producer of original films on all of basic cable," Daniels said.

Beers first joined Lifetime in 1999 as director of original movies, eventually moving up to the lead role. Before that, she spent eight years as vice president of creative affairs at Universal TV Entertainment.

Her other recent credits include "Girl, Positive," which ranks as this year's top-rated basic cable movie among women 18-34 and 18-49, as well as "The Mermaid Chair" and "We Were the Mulvaneys."

"I've had the pleasure of working on amazing projects," Beers said, "partnering with a gifted team within the creative community to build an outstanding body of work."

Lifetime produces more telepics -- 60 a year -- than any other TV network. Next up, net is prepping the bow of the original pic "The Murder of Princess Diana," which is timed to the 10th anniversary of the Princess of Wales' death.