EXCLUSIVE: Wednesday and Elvis producer Gail Berman, founder and CEO of The Jackal Group, has signed a three-year overall deal with Sony Pictures Television. Under the pact, which starts today, the industry veteran will develop and produce scripted series for cable and streaming platforms.
Berman, an Oscar, Emmy and Tony-nominated producer and the only woman to have held top posts at both a major film studio and a broadcast television network, is coming off receiving the Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television at the 2024 PGA Awards.
“We are thrilled to partner with Gail,” said Katherine Pope, President, Sony Pictures Television Studios. “Beyond being a true legend, Gail is a brilliant producer and creative force, always doing the work with unwavering grace.”
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Aligning with an independent TV studio is a natural next step for Berman who has spent a large part of her career as an independent producer, first working in theater straight out of college and then running TV production companies like Buffy the Vampire Slayer maker Sandollar TV and Malcolm In the Middle studio Regency Television as well as co-founding BermanBraun before launching The Jackal Group.
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“Sony holds so many truths for me — great people, exceptional content, and an amazing legacy with a commitment to story and creatives. I am truly invigorated to make my new home here,” Berman said. “But the magic key is Katherine and her team. We are going to make some spectacular, resonant content together.”
Through The Jackal Group, whose slate spans scripted and unscripted television, feature films, and commercial theater, Berman has produced such projects as reality series Tidying Up With Marie Kondo for Netflix; The Addams Family 2019 animated feature film and its sequel, The Addams Family 2, for MGM; the Tim Burton-directed live-action spinoff series, Wednesday, which ranks as Netflix’s most popular English-language series of all time; and Baz Luhrmann’s musical film Elvis for Warner Brothers which earned seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
In adding to Wednesday, which is filming its second season, scripted series in production include the Jon Hamm-led animated comedy Grimsburg, which has been picked up for a second season by Fox, and the upcoming adaptation of Elin Hilderbrand’s best-selling novel The Perfect Couple starring Nicole Kidman for Netflix.
Projects in development at Jackal include Rentaghost, a Warner Brothers feature animation film, two Addams animated features, and Before the Coffee Gets Cold, based on the Japanese bestselling time-travel novel.
Berman was named President of Paramount Pictures in March 2005. She segued into the job after serving as President of Entertainment for the Fox Broadcasting Company from 2000 to 2005, overseeing the network’s assent to the top of the ratings with such primetime additions as American Idol, 24, House, and Arrested Development. She served as President of the Producers Guild of America from 2018 – 2022.
