Exclusive: Verve has hired Jacy Schleier as an agent in the Non-Fiction team, led by Partner Andy Stabile. Schleier was most recently an agent, Non-Fiction Television, Talent & IP at CAA.
There, she was involved in the representation of production companies such as Magical Elves (Nailed It!), Citizen Jones (How to Become a Tyrant), Mary Robertson’s Maxine (June), and Objective (Lingo). She worked with filmmaker Skye Borgman (Sins of Our Mother) on securing an overall deal at Netflix and has represented chef Kwame Onwuachi (Top Chef) and producers on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Love Island, and Below Deck.
In the Book-to-tv & film area, Schleier has been involved in the representation of companies like Mattel, Spotify, and ProPublica and assisted journalists such as Bob Spitz (The Remarkable Life of Julia Child), and Laura Beil (Dr. Death) in adapting their stories for television.
Schleier also was involved in selling documentaries,...
There, she was involved in the representation of production companies such as Magical Elves (Nailed It!), Citizen Jones (How to Become a Tyrant), Mary Robertson’s Maxine (June), and Objective (Lingo). She worked with filmmaker Skye Borgman (Sins of Our Mother) on securing an overall deal at Netflix and has represented chef Kwame Onwuachi (Top Chef) and producers on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Love Island, and Below Deck.
In the Book-to-tv & film area, Schleier has been involved in the representation of companies like Mattel, Spotify, and ProPublica and assisted journalists such as Bob Spitz (The Remarkable Life of Julia Child), and Laura Beil (Dr. Death) in adapting their stories for television.
Schleier also was involved in selling documentaries,...
- 2/29/2024
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Verve has grown its partner roster.
The agency has promoted Parker Davis and Tyler Reynolds to partners.
Davis has been Co-Head of the Motion Picture Literary since 2022, while Reynolds is Head of Television Directing.
The move is the latest internal move at the agency, which hired Jenni Ferrari-Adler to its media rights team earlier this year.
Davis was employee number five at the company and was promoted to agent in 2012. His clients include Arkasha Stevenson (The First Omen), Emily Carmichael (Jurassic World: Dominion), James Morosini (I Love My Dad), Richard Wong (The Valet), Derek Connolly (The Legend of Zelda), Bragi Schut (Samaritan) and Sarah Streicher (The Wilds).
Reynolds joined Verve in 2021 through the acquisition of New Deal Mfg. Co. He has a big list of television directors including Fred Berner and Amy Durning, who produced Maestro, Arthur Forney and Anastasia Puglisi, who work with Wolf Entertainment, Allen Coulter (Tulsa...
The agency has promoted Parker Davis and Tyler Reynolds to partners.
Davis has been Co-Head of the Motion Picture Literary since 2022, while Reynolds is Head of Television Directing.
The move is the latest internal move at the agency, which hired Jenni Ferrari-Adler to its media rights team earlier this year.
Davis was employee number five at the company and was promoted to agent in 2012. His clients include Arkasha Stevenson (The First Omen), Emily Carmichael (Jurassic World: Dominion), James Morosini (I Love My Dad), Richard Wong (The Valet), Derek Connolly (The Legend of Zelda), Bragi Schut (Samaritan) and Sarah Streicher (The Wilds).
Reynolds joined Verve in 2021 through the acquisition of New Deal Mfg. Co. He has a big list of television directors including Fred Berner and Amy Durning, who produced Maestro, Arthur Forney and Anastasia Puglisi, who work with Wolf Entertainment, Allen Coulter (Tulsa...
- 2/7/2024
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: April Yuan, one of the founding partners of Vital Artists Agency, is joining Verve.
Non-fiction agent Yuan has joined Verve’s newly rebranded non-Fiction team, headed by Partner Andy Stabile.
The move comes after the partners at Vital, which was founded during the pandemic by Rebel Entertainment’s senior unscripted agents Cal Boyington, Phil Irven and Yuan following the retirement of their former boss Richard Lawrence, decided to split.
Yuan will continue to represent clients including Asabi Lee, exec producer of Max’s Project Greenlight revival, Lanee Griffin (Hart to Heart with Kevin Hart), Wendi Wan (Milf Manor) and Carolina Saavedra (Leguizamo Does America) and will work with Verve’s existing team of agents as it expands its non-fiction team.
She has been instrumental in growing representation for female and Bipoc voices in the non-scripted community. She previously said, “We’re just making reality TV. But we can do...
Non-fiction agent Yuan has joined Verve’s newly rebranded non-Fiction team, headed by Partner Andy Stabile.
The move comes after the partners at Vital, which was founded during the pandemic by Rebel Entertainment’s senior unscripted agents Cal Boyington, Phil Irven and Yuan following the retirement of their former boss Richard Lawrence, decided to split.
Yuan will continue to represent clients including Asabi Lee, exec producer of Max’s Project Greenlight revival, Lanee Griffin (Hart to Heart with Kevin Hart), Wendi Wan (Milf Manor) and Carolina Saavedra (Leguizamo Does America) and will work with Verve’s existing team of agents as it expands its non-fiction team.
She has been instrumental in growing representation for female and Bipoc voices in the non-scripted community. She previously said, “We’re just making reality TV. But we can do...
- 4/21/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Verve has upped coordinators Olivia Ghersen and Isaiah Williams to Agents in the Television Literary and Motion Picture Literary teams, respectively.
The agency continued its long-running tradition of surprising staff with promotions by enlisting Ghersen and Williams to run the all-company meeting on Monday morning and, when the time came for their usual reporting section, the team heads – Felicia Prinz, Chris Noriega (TV Lit), Liz Parker, Parker Davis (MP Lit), and Melissa Darman who created and oversees the Agent Trainee program, ran through their accomplishments and professional highlights.
Ghersen previously worked at 20th Television and Mainstay Entertainment before joining Verve from Discovery Communications. She has worked on both the scripted and unscripted sides of television, but has always had an affinity towards comedy, starting when she cold-emailed producers at Saturday Night Live to ask for informational interviews. At Verve she focuses on comedy writers and multi-hyphenates, and in her spare...
The agency continued its long-running tradition of surprising staff with promotions by enlisting Ghersen and Williams to run the all-company meeting on Monday morning and, when the time came for their usual reporting section, the team heads – Felicia Prinz, Chris Noriega (TV Lit), Liz Parker, Parker Davis (MP Lit), and Melissa Darman who created and oversees the Agent Trainee program, ran through their accomplishments and professional highlights.
Ghersen previously worked at 20th Television and Mainstay Entertainment before joining Verve from Discovery Communications. She has worked on both the scripted and unscripted sides of television, but has always had an affinity towards comedy, starting when she cold-emailed producers at Saturday Night Live to ask for informational interviews. At Verve she focuses on comedy writers and multi-hyphenates, and in her spare...
- 4/6/2023
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Peter Geist has signed with Verve for representation.
Geist, who has spent over a decade working on The Bachelor franchise, signs during a rebrand of the agency’s nonfiction division following the hire of veteran agent Andy Stabile as Partner and Head of Nonfiction last year.
Geist began as a co-producer on Bachelor Pad in 2012, before joining the franchise’s stalwart series in 2016. He has also served as an executive producer for Bachelor in Paradise.
In addition to The Bachelor, Geist has been a producer on Survivor and Celebrity Apprentice.
The Bachelor recently wrapped its 27th season. The franchise underwent a major shakeup last month when creator Mike Fleiss departed the series after two decades. Claire Freeland, Jason Ehrlich and Bennett Graebner are taking over as executive producers and showrunners for the franchise.
Geist, who has spent over a decade working on The Bachelor franchise, signs during a rebrand of the agency’s nonfiction division following the hire of veteran agent Andy Stabile as Partner and Head of Nonfiction last year.
Geist began as a co-producer on Bachelor Pad in 2012, before joining the franchise’s stalwart series in 2016. He has also served as an executive producer for Bachelor in Paradise.
In addition to The Bachelor, Geist has been a producer on Survivor and Celebrity Apprentice.
The Bachelor recently wrapped its 27th season. The franchise underwent a major shakeup last month when creator Mike Fleiss departed the series after two decades. Claire Freeland, Jason Ehrlich and Bennett Graebner are taking over as executive producers and showrunners for the franchise.
- 4/5/2023
- by Katie Campione
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Verve’s Andy Stabile and his team, including Lanie Ragsdale, have wasted no time signing up new non-scripted clients after joining the agency.
The company has signed Brian Balthazar and his Balthazar Entertainment banner, which produces HGTV hits Christina On The Coast and Christina In The Country featuring Christina Hall.
It comes after ICM and CAA veteran Stabile joined the company last year as Non-Fiction Head with Ragsdale joining shortly afterwards as a non-fiction agent.
Balthazar Entertainment, a joint venture with Glass Entertainment Group, produces lifestyle programming including HGTV’s Tough Love with Hilary Farr and Food Network’s My Dream Kitchen with Carla Hall.
Balthazar began his career in news and talk shows, working on The Today Show at NBC before becoming a co-exec producer of The View. He later served as VP, Programming at Discovery Networks, overseeing dozens of shows across various genres.
In addition to his production and executive roles,...
The company has signed Brian Balthazar and his Balthazar Entertainment banner, which produces HGTV hits Christina On The Coast and Christina In The Country featuring Christina Hall.
It comes after ICM and CAA veteran Stabile joined the company last year as Non-Fiction Head with Ragsdale joining shortly afterwards as a non-fiction agent.
Balthazar Entertainment, a joint venture with Glass Entertainment Group, produces lifestyle programming including HGTV’s Tough Love with Hilary Farr and Food Network’s My Dream Kitchen with Carla Hall.
Balthazar began his career in news and talk shows, working on The Today Show at NBC before becoming a co-exec producer of The View. He later served as VP, Programming at Discovery Networks, overseeing dozens of shows across various genres.
In addition to his production and executive roles,...
- 1/24/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Verve continues to ramp up its unscripted business with the latest addition of Lanie Ragsdale as Non-Fiction Agent. Ragsdale’s move to Verve follows the hire of Andy Stabile as Partner and Head of Non-Fiction in July.
Ragsdale will work with Stabile as he continues to build out the agency’s non-fiction roster and diversify its existing slate of projects.
Ragsdale began her career at ICM in the Alternative Department before transitioning to production and development at Jeff Jenkins Productions and then Bright Spot Content, an All3 Media America company. Ragsdale has worked on projects for NBCU, Amazon and Netflix’s hit series Bling Empire and My Unorthodox Life.
Said Stabile on behalf of the Partnership “We are thrilled to have Lanie join the Non-Fiction team at Verve. Her work ethic and passion for the space make her the perfect addition as we continue to grow Verve’s footprint in the Non-Fiction world.
Ragsdale will work with Stabile as he continues to build out the agency’s non-fiction roster and diversify its existing slate of projects.
Ragsdale began her career at ICM in the Alternative Department before transitioning to production and development at Jeff Jenkins Productions and then Bright Spot Content, an All3 Media America company. Ragsdale has worked on projects for NBCU, Amazon and Netflix’s hit series Bling Empire and My Unorthodox Life.
Said Stabile on behalf of the Partnership “We are thrilled to have Lanie join the Non-Fiction team at Verve. Her work ethic and passion for the space make her the perfect addition as we continue to grow Verve’s footprint in the Non-Fiction world.
- 10/7/2022
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: After four years at Verve, veteran unscripted television agent Bill Thompson has joined Vital Artists Agency, reuniting with former colleague Phil Irven.
At Verve, Thompson launched an unscripted division in 2018 and oversaw that area for the agency. His departure followed the July hire of former ICM agent Andy Stabile as Verve Partner and Head of Unscripted. Thompson met with a couple of companies and went with upstart Vital, which was launched in late 2020 by Rebel Entertainment Partners’ Irven, April Yuan and Cal Boyington. They were joined by veteran unscripted executive Nicole Zien earlier this year.
During his Verve tenure, Thompson built a department that packaged and sold over 100 hours of programming including Pants on Fire (Disney +) American Dreams (Discovery +) and the upcoming USA series Barmageddon with Blake Shelton. On the talent side, Thompson brokered Leah Remini’s seven-figure People Puzzler game show deal and the reboot of Kat Von D’s LA Ink.
At Verve, Thompson launched an unscripted division in 2018 and oversaw that area for the agency. His departure followed the July hire of former ICM agent Andy Stabile as Verve Partner and Head of Unscripted. Thompson met with a couple of companies and went with upstart Vital, which was launched in late 2020 by Rebel Entertainment Partners’ Irven, April Yuan and Cal Boyington. They were joined by veteran unscripted executive Nicole Zien earlier this year.
During his Verve tenure, Thompson built a department that packaged and sold over 100 hours of programming including Pants on Fire (Disney +) American Dreams (Discovery +) and the upcoming USA series Barmageddon with Blake Shelton. On the talent side, Thompson brokered Leah Remini’s seven-figure People Puzzler game show deal and the reboot of Kat Von D’s LA Ink.
- 9/16/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Verve has promoted Melissa Darman to partner.
Darman, who joined Verve in 2014, started her career at ICM before pivoting to the studio system to work in comedy development at ABC Network. She then moved onto Lionsgate before joining Verve, where she has continued to focus on comedy during her time as an agent on the TV literary team.
“Working at Verve continues to be rewarding on a daily basis,” Darman said in a statement. “I could not be more proud to be a part of such a forward-thinking company that cares equally about the well-being and success of both its employees and clients. I’m thrilled to be a part of the leadership that grows and strengthens the company, and our industry, every day.”
With the elevation of Darman, that brings the total number of partners at Verve to 11. Darman joins founders Bryan Besser, Adam Levine and Bill Weinstein, and...
Darman, who joined Verve in 2014, started her career at ICM before pivoting to the studio system to work in comedy development at ABC Network. She then moved onto Lionsgate before joining Verve, where she has continued to focus on comedy during her time as an agent on the TV literary team.
“Working at Verve continues to be rewarding on a daily basis,” Darman said in a statement. “I could not be more proud to be a part of such a forward-thinking company that cares equally about the well-being and success of both its employees and clients. I’m thrilled to be a part of the leadership that grows and strengthens the company, and our industry, every day.”
With the elevation of Darman, that brings the total number of partners at Verve to 11. Darman joins founders Bryan Besser, Adam Levine and Bill Weinstein, and...
- 8/12/2022
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: APA has hired veteran unscripted TV Agent Ryan Wackerman as SVP, Alternative & Factual Programming.
Wackerman, who will report to Hayden Meyer, APA’s head of Alternative and Factual Programming, is the eighth ICM agent/executive APA has brought in from the group that left on the eve of CAA’s acquisition. APA has been the most aggressive pursuing former ICM talent as the agency has ramped up expansion following the 2020 investment by Ron Burkle.
Wackerman comes to APA after an 11-year run at ICM Partners, where he worked with non-scripted and documentary production companies, showrunners, directors, producers, and on-camera talent in broadcast, cable, streaming, and syndication, including 3 Ball Productions (Bar Rescue), Big Coat Media (Love It Or List It), Frank (Delicious Miss Brown), Grandma’s House Entertainment (Misery Index), Workaholic Productions (True Terror with Robert Englund), and ZnakTV (Ultimate Tag) as well as executive producers on series such as American Idol,...
Wackerman, who will report to Hayden Meyer, APA’s head of Alternative and Factual Programming, is the eighth ICM agent/executive APA has brought in from the group that left on the eve of CAA’s acquisition. APA has been the most aggressive pursuing former ICM talent as the agency has ramped up expansion following the 2020 investment by Ron Burkle.
Wackerman comes to APA after an 11-year run at ICM Partners, where he worked with non-scripted and documentary production companies, showrunners, directors, producers, and on-camera talent in broadcast, cable, streaming, and syndication, including 3 Ball Productions (Bar Rescue), Big Coat Media (Love It Or List It), Frank (Delicious Miss Brown), Grandma’s House Entertainment (Misery Index), Workaholic Productions (True Terror with Robert Englund), and ZnakTV (Ultimate Tag) as well as executive producers on series such as American Idol,...
- 8/3/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Veteran non-fiction agent Andy Stabile is joining Verve as Partner and Head of Unscripted, bringing the number of partners at the agency to ten. Stabile spent the last six years at ICM Partners, which he left in the aftermath of the agency’s acquisition by CAA. Before that, he was at CAA for 14 years. His start date at Verve is Tbd.
Bill Thompson, who had served as Head of Unscripted at Verve since joining four years ago when the agency set off to expand into the space, will stay on.
“Andy will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to Verve and we’re excited to have him join the agency and the Partnership,” the Verve partners said in a statement. “His addition will not only bolster our existing Unscripted business but will allow us to expand our ability to bring advocacy to a broader spectrum of creators.”
It...
Bill Thompson, who had served as Head of Unscripted at Verve since joining four years ago when the agency set off to expand into the space, will stay on.
“Andy will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to Verve and we’re excited to have him join the agency and the Partnership,” the Verve partners said in a statement. “His addition will not only bolster our existing Unscripted business but will allow us to expand our ability to bring advocacy to a broader spectrum of creators.”
It...
- 7/22/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
After 13 years in the Alternative Television department at CAA, Andy Stabile has moved to Elliot Stahler and Mitch Kaplan’s Kaplan Stahler Agency as Partner and Head of Alternative. Focusing on the representation of on-camera personalities and non-scripted producers and production companies in his last year at CAA, Stabile brokered deals for series including NBC’s Food Fighters, Oxygen’s Preachers Of L.A., Esquire’s Knife Fight and Car Matchmaker. "Kaplan Stahler is the…...
- 3/11/2015
- Deadline TV
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