Paramount Television names production, development heads

Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Television studio has named the executive team that will help the company stage its return to the TV production business.

The company on Wednesday appointed Jason Fisher, formerly of cable network AMC, as head of production. Fisher oversaw production for shows including “The Walking Dead,” “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad” and the “The Killing.”

Annette Savitch, who most recently co-ran Natalie Portman’s production company Handsomecharlie Films, is coming on as Paramount TV’s head of drama development, while Jennifer Howell, formerly of 20th Century Fox TV, will lead comedy development.

The team will report to Paramount TV President Amy Powell, who was promoted to the position in July.

Viacom let go of its TV production capabilities eight years ago when the company split with CBS Corp., though Viacom kept its Paramount Pictures movie studio and its stable of cable channels, including Nickelodeon and MTV.

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Before the split, Paramount was known for churning out television gems including “Star Trek,” “Cheers,” “Frasier” and “Family Ties.”

Now the company is looking to its movie vault and elsewhere for TV content.

Paramount TV has a number of series in the works, including one based on the “Terminator” franchise, a re-imagining of the film “The Truman Show” and a drama inspired by “The Alienist,” a novel by Caleb Carr.

“While we are just getting started, there has been a terrific amount of momentum at Paramount TV as we look to develop new ideas as well as harness some of the studio’s most iconic titles,” Powell said in a statement.

The company also named Stephanie Love as head of finance and David Goldman as head of business affairs.

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