TV Hot Spot: News

HBO Entertainment Chief Leaving Post!

Post by: Sal


Source: Zap2It


Carolyn Strauss, who helped build HBO into a TV powerhouse with shows like "The Sopranos" and "Six Feet Under," is leaving her job as president of HBO Entertainment.

She's not going far, though: Strauss is expected to stay with the premium cable channel in some capacity, either through a production deal or in some sort of consulting role, the showbiz trade papers report.

During her time as entertainment chief, and before that as the executive in charge of original programming, Strauss helped transform HBO into one of the primary destinations for quality series. In addition to "The Sopranos," she oversaw the development of "Sex and the City," "Deadwood," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "The Wire" and "Entourage," among others, and saw the network's shows win a host of Emmys and other awards while garnering huge viewership numbers for a channel that reaches fewer than half the country's households.

HBO has struggled a little bit recently, though, in finding new hits to replace its flagship shows. Recent efforts like "Tell Me You Love Me" and "Flight of the Conchords" have won some critical praise but aren't attracting the numbers their predecessors have.

"No one has made a more significant contribution to the success of HBO than Carolyn," HBO co-president Richard Plepler and programming group/West Coast operations chief Michael Lombardo say in a statement. "We cannot imagine HBO without her, and we are thrilled that we will continue to have the benefit of her judgment and unique talent."

Strauss has been with HBO for her entire career, beginning work as an assistant in the original programming department in 1986 and has steadily risen through the department to her current post as president of HBO Entertainment, which she assumed in 2004.


Take care,

Sal