Television
February 23, 2005
Michael Roberts Is Elevated To Executive Vice President, Current Programming, At The WB And Announces Additions To His New Executive Team
(February 23, 2005 - Burbank, CA) – Michael Roberts has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Current Programming at The WB, it was announced by David Janollari, President, Entertainment for The WB. Mr. Roberts will serve as the head of the current programming department, reporting directly to Mr. Janollari.
Mr. Roberts supervises and provides creative direction for all current programming on The WB’s primetime schedule. He has been head of the current programming department since July, 2004, and previously held the title of Senior Vice President, Current Programming.
“Michael is a tremendous choice to head up our current programming department,” Mr. Janollari said. “He is respected by the creative community and has a keen sense of story and character, plus he’s a pleasure to work with. This season our returning series have enjoyed a tremendous renaissance creatively and Michael deserves a great deal of credit for that.”
Before joining The WB, Mr. Roberts spent his career in the motion picture business, most recently for 10 years at Walt Disney Pictures, rising to Senior Vice President of Production. Mr. Roberts began his career at Paramount Pictures as a creative executive and also worked at Weintraub Entertainment Group. He has worked on feature films such as “Top Gun,” “Children of a Lesser God,” “Beverly Hills Cop II,” “Three Men and a Little Lady,” “Man of the House,” “Simon Birch” and “Mighty Joe Young.”
Mr. Roberts officially announced his new current programming team and the addition of two veteran executives.
Brett King has joined The WB as Senior Vice President, Current Programming. Tana Jamieson, the network’s Senior Vice President of Original Movies, will add the additional responsibilities of Senior Vice President of Current Programming, reporting to Mr. Roberts in that area. They will join Mr. Roberts’ team, which includes Senior Vice President Chris Sanagustin and Susan Klein, who was recently promoted to Current Programming Associate.
Mr. King comes to The WB from Paramount Network Television, where he served as Vice President, Current Programs for eight years. There he worked on shows such as “JAG,” “Becker,” “NCIS,” “Lateline,” “Andy Richter Controls the Universe” and “Medium.” Prior to that, Mr. King was Director, Current Programming at Twentieth Century Fox Television, where he oversaw shows such as “Picket Fences,” “Chicago Hope,” “In Living Color” and “South Central.” He also worked in television development for Quincy Jones Entertainment. Mr. King began his career as a Producer for “Saturday Night Live.”
“Brett has many assets in that he has been equally successful working in comedy and drama,” said Mr. Roberts. “He has worked as a producer and an executive, for large companies and small. His diverse talents should translate well to working on the network level at The WB.”
Ms. Jamieson’s first original film, "Samantha: An American Girl Holiday," was a tremendous success, attracting more than 6 million viewers. “Having Tana join our department is a great addition,” said Mr. Roberts. “Her familiarity with The WB series, as well as her movie background, makes her a very strong current executive right off the bat, especially for our dramas.”
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