New York, NY – September 24, 2009 – AMC announced today the appointment of Susie Fitzgerald as senior vice president of scripted development and current programming, a newly- created position. In this role, Fitzgerald oversees the day-to-day operations of the network’s current original scripted programming as well as the development of new projects. Most recently, Fitzgerald was president of television at Josephson Entertainment. Previously, she has held positions at Darren Star Productions, Brad Grey Television and HBO, contributing to her broad range of experience in television production. Based in AMC’s Los Angeles office, she reports to Joel Stillerman, AMC’s senior vice president of original programming, production and digital content. The appointment comes on the heels of AMC premiering its third season of Mad Men and the recent announcement of a full series order of original series, Rubicon.
"Susie is a great creative executive who brings incredible experience from the production and network side. She has a terrific track record of working with both established and new talent, and she truly understands what we are trying to do at AMC in terms of telling the best stories on television," said Stillerman. "Her talent for identifying and shaping great stories, her managerial experience, and the fact that she is so well-respected in the industry will make her a tremendous addition to our stellar team."
"I have been a fan of Mad Men and Breaking Bad since they launched. It is impressive that AMC has been able to gain such an amazing amount of critical acclaim, record ratings and industry wide recognition right out of the gate. It is truly exciting for me to join the network at this point in their growth," said Fitzgerald.
Prior to Josephson Entertainment, Fitzgerald served as the head of Darren Star Productions (ABC’s Cashmere Mafia, CW’s Runaway). She spent ten years at Brillstein-Grey Entertainment where she rose to the Co-Head position of Brad Grey Television. There she supervised the development and production of The Sopranos, and is widely credited with ensuring James Gandolfini be cast as Tony Soprano. She was also in charge of the production of Newsradio (five seasons) and The Larry Sanders Show (six seasons). Additionally, Fitzgerald developed long-form projects with HBO Films, as well as features with Plan B. Prior to working at Brillstein-Grey, Fitzgerald was vice president of original programming at HBO, West Coast, supervising such series as The Larry Sanders Show, Dream On and Tales From the Crypt. Fitzgerald started at HBO as a production coordinator for HBO Premier Films and quickly rose from comedy specials to Director of Original Programming, Series & Specials.
Fitzgerald holds a B.A. degree in Biology from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She is married with two children.
AMC first introduced original programming in the summer of 2006 with the Emmy Award-winning Broken Trail. The mini-series attracted ten million viewers, making it cable’s highest-rated mini-series in ten years. In July 2007, the network introduced its first original series, Mad Men, which made history as the first basic cable series ever to win the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, and back-to-back Golden Globes® for Best Television Series – Drama. Following was Breaking Bad, which premiered in March 2008 to critical acclaim, record ratings and industry recognition, including Bryan Cranston’s win at the 2008 Emmy awards for outstanding lead actor in a drama series. This November, AMC is premiering its next mini-series, The Prisoner starring Sir Ian McKellen and Jim Caviezel. Recently, the network announced a full series order for Rubicon, a conspiracy thriller, which debuts in first quarter of 2010.
About AMC
AMC – the most Emmy®-winning basic cable network of 2008 – reigns as the only basic cable network to win back-to-back Golden Globes® for Best Television Series – Drama and boasts a comprehensive library of the most entertaining movies of all time. Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade or creating acclaimed original productions, the AMC experience is an uncompromising celebration of great stories. AMC’s original stories include the Emmy® Award-winning dramas Mad Men and Breaking Bad, the upcoming miniseries The Prisoner and insightful non-scripted programming such as AMC Storymakers and AMC News. AMC further demonstrates its commitment to the art of storytelling with curated movie franchises like AMC Hollywood Icon and AMC Complete Collection. Available in over 95 million homes (Source: Nielsen Media Research), AMC is a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, which includes sister networks IFC, Sundance Channel and WE tv. AMC is available across all platforms including on-air, online, on demand and mobile. AMC: Story Matters HereSM.
About Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multiplatform content for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world’s most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC (The Independent Film Channel), WE tv, Sundance Channel, IFC Entertainment and VOOM HD Networks. Through IFC Entertainment, Rainbow Media also owns and manages the following: IFC Films, a leading U.S. distributor of independent and foreign film with a unique day and date distribution model, "IFC In Theaters," that makes films available to a national audience by releasing them simultaneously in theaters as well as on cable’s On Demand platform; IFC Festival Direct features titles acquired from major international film festivals and initially offers them exclusively through On Demand; IFC Productions, a feature film production company; and IFC Center, a state-of-the-art cinema in the heart of NYC’s Greenwich Village. Rainbow Media also operates Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, an advertising sales company; Rainbow Network Communications, a full service network programming origination and distribution company; and 11 Penn TV, a company that manages Rainbow Media’s NYC studios and post-production facilities.