HBO taps Rich for creative gig

N.Y. Times columnist given consultant position

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

Rich

HBO has tapped New York Times columnist Frank Rich to serve as a creative consultant for the pay cabler.

Under the arrangement, Rich will bring ideas to HBO and help develop projects there.

HBO co-prexy Richard Plepler and programming/West Coast operations topper Michael Lombardo announced the pact Wednesday.

Execs said the idea to bring Rich into the HBO fold came soon after the channel's new executive structure was announced last year. Rich's take on the channel and the direction in which it should be heading, expressed over lunch and in casual conversations, impressed Plepler and Lombardo (both of whom already knew Rich well) enough that the execs began exploring the consultancy arrangement.

"Frank brought to us a remarkable set of perspectives," Plepler said. "Not only the creative voices he may run into or the projects he may hear about, but also his instincts and judgments. We decided it made sense to try this out."

Rich will continue to pen his Times column on politics and public affairs but has recused himself from writing about HBO or Time Warner. That meant not weighing in on HBO's new longform "Recount," which might otherwise have made for column fodder.

Under the pact, Rich will get a producer or exec producer role on projects he brings to the network, but such a credit will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

"This is totally informal," Plepler said. "It's as informal as Frank picking up the phone and saying, 'What do you think about meeting with this writer or picking up this property' to us calling him and asking him to take a look at a rough cut of a show and give us his thoughts and instincts about it."

Lombardo, meanwhile, called Rich "one of the smartest and most astute observers of popular culture." Added screenwriter William Goldman: "He's a brilliant political writer, obviously, but he understands show business as well... Who knows how this is going to work out, but I think it's wonderful for everybody."

Rich spent 20 years as a critic, including a 13-year stint as the New York Times' theater reviewer and gigs as a film and TV critic at Time magazine, among other places.

"I never wanted to be a critic again after 1993," he said. "But I've been wondering what I might do that would take me back into culture and get my feet wet a little bit. This was an incredible opportunity to do it."

Rich said he doesn't believe HBO needs to "reinvent the wheel" but does need to find new properties and auspices to carry on the network's tradition of shows like "The Sopranos."

"The basic DNA of it is completely sound," he said. "The real question is how do you further it as their hit series have departed."

Pact is only with Rich and not with the New York Times in general. Separately, the channel said the paper has expressed interest in setting up a relationship with HBO as well.