Warner Bros. Sets Creative Team Lineup for Digital Studio Blue Ribbon Content
The announcement was made today by Sam Register, who runs BRC in his role as President, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Digital Series. Register said: “The appointments and new hires of Peter, Zoe, Lance and Alex reflect the fast-growing nature of Blue Ribbon Content, with three new series, our first virtual reality experience and more than a dozen new projects currently in development. This Blue Ribbon Content creative team, with the varied and diverse experience of these highly talented executives in live-action, drama, comedy and animation, is well-placed to continue our mission of expanding and growing our digital series business.”
The new Blue Ribbon Content creative executive team includes:
• Peter Girardi: While continuing to serve as Senior Vice President of Creative Affairs at Warner Bros. Animation, Peter Girardi will take on the SVP, Creative Affairs, role at BRC. Reporting to Register, Girardi will spearhead the development of all new programming for the digital studio, and will also oversee all creative matters for BRC’s existing shows and alternative projects. BRC’s current series orders overseen by Girardi include an all-new live-action “Mortal Kombat” series — “Mortal Kombat X: Generation” — to be distributed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment; the animated “Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles” for Machinima; the animated “Vixen” for CW Seed, the digital-only studio of The CW Network; and the “Batman: The Animated Series” virtual reality experience, being produced in conjunction with OTOY Inc.
• Zoe Friedman: Zoe Friedman joins BRC as its Senior Vice President of Development, with the day-to-day responsibility for developing and overseeing the ongoing production of shortform comedy series. This will include a focus on developing experimental concepts for programming. In this role, Friedman will also be charged with establishing relationships with new creative talent and discovering new production partners for the Studio.
• Lance Sloane: Lance Sloane has been named Vice President, Development & Production, at BRC, where he will be responsible for managing the process of creating programming. Joining BRC from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment where he produced and oversaw production on the “Mortal Kombat,” “H+” and “Aim High” digital series, Sloane will manage cross-divisional collaboration within Warner Bros., and will oversee production and operational matters with outside production companies. Additionally, he will develop experimental concepts for programming, persuade creators to bring new program ideas to BRC, and attach other creative talent to existing BRC projects.
• Alexandra Davis: Former AwesomenessTV producer Alexandra Davis has been tapped to serve as BRC’s Director, Development & Production. She will work closely with Friedman and Sloane to develop new programming ideas, with an emphasis on experimental social series concepts, maximizing the potential for content to be shared across all social platforms. Davis will also spearhead BRC’s relationship with Alloy Entertainment to deliver new digital series, and she will represent BRC at film festivals and universities, leading the charge for new talent recruitment.
Girardi joined the company in 2009 as Warner Bros. Animation’s Senior Vice President, Series & Alternative Animation, before later being named SVP, Creative Affairs. In this role, he handles the day-to-day creative aspects for a number of WBA series and spearheads development and production of non-traditional animated programming for both television and emerging platforms, as well as alternative outlets for adults, such as Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, among others. He also supervises original DVD movie releases in conjunction with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Girardi currently oversees the animated Adult Swim comedy series “Mike Tyson Mysteries,” starring for the former heavyweight boxing champion. During his tenure at WBA, Girardi also oversaw the development of the “DC Nation” programming block on Cartoon Network, which featured original animated shorts and additional programming based upon DC Entertainment properties. Girardi was also responsible for WBA’s “MAD,” the highly successful and irreverent animated comedy series inspired by the iconic MAD magazine — published by DC Comics— which aired for four seasons on Cartoon Network.
A highly regarded executive and producer with a long track record of success in comedy, Friedman spent 10 years in development and current programming at Comedy Central. As Vice President of Development (first East Coast and then West Coast), Friedman bought and/or oversaw programs such as “The Kroll Show,” “Nathan for You,” “Review,” “Important Things with Demetri Martin,” “Drawn Together,” “The Comedians of Comedy” and “Dog Bites Man.” In 2013, she produced “The Improv: 50 Years Behind the Brick Wall,” an anniversary special highlighting the legendary Improvisation comedy club. She also served as a talent executive/consultant for “Jimmy Kimmel Live” for two years, after having previously been a senior producer at “The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn” and a segment producer at “Late Show with David Letterman.” Friedman is also the co-founder and executive producer of Comedy Gives Back, an organization dedicated to raising money and awareness for a variety of charities around the world via multiplatform comedy events.
Immediately prior to joining BRC, Sloane served as a producer and digital production executive at Warner Bros. Home Entertainment for four years. He had joined WBHE after having been President of Production at Bandito Brothers, where he oversaw the hit feature film “Act of Valor.” Additionally, Sloane was President of Farfalla Films, producing the critically acclaimed Sundance film “The Good Life.” Previously, he worked at Warner Bros. Online for nearly seven years, producing over 100 live concert events with some of the biggest bands/artists and directors for digital platforms; he began at WB Online as an artist & event developer before being promoted to Director, Business Development and then Director, Music Development & Production. Before joining the Studio, Sloane was a co-founding team member and head of business development for House of Blues, after working as Vice President, New Business/Brand Development, for marketing management company R.P.M.C.
Immediately prior to joining BRC, Davis was a producer and Head of Pop Culture Programming at AwesomenessTV for two years, creating and producing dozens of pieces of content for the channel on a weekly basis. During her tenure, she developed, directed and produced scripted reality programming, including “The Jenn & Andrea Show,” and she was producer/director of the award-winning teen talk show “IMO.” Davis previously worked at Relativity Media, where she was Marketing Manager for its special projects/digital division Rogue.