Former CW Chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz and his production company Pine Street Entertainment have signed an agency with CAA. The move comes as Pedowitz ponders his future as a producer, having left CW in October following Nexstar’s acquisition of the broadcaster.
Pedowitz originally founded Pine Street Entertainment in 2010 after leaving Disney after 19 years — including a stint as ABC Studios president — with a first-look deal at Warner Bros. TV. He returned to leadership the next year when he was recruited to run the CW, but his brief initial tenure as producer resulted in a few pilots and a series, David E. Kelley’s CBS comedy The crazy ones with Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
When Pedowitz left CW, it was originally expected that he would sign a production deal with either Warner Bros. TV or CBS Studios, the two studios he worked closely with on CW since they were co-owners of the network (through their parent companies). and scripting vendors. He is now believed to be weighing his options and signing with a talent agency would help in that process.
During Pedowitz’s 11-year tenure at the CW, he successfully rebuilt the network, expanding its audience, doubling the amount of original programming it offered, expanding the network’s primetime schedule to seven nights a week, laying out The CW and championed inclusion and representation in front of and behind the camera. Some of the popular series he directed include a sprawling DC universe that he started with Arrow And The Lightning; the Vampire Diaries And All Americans franchises, the acclaimed Jane the maiden And Crazy ex-girlfriend, Riverdale as well as veterans supernatural, which he champions.
As president of ABC Studios, Pedowitz oversaw such shows as Lost, Grey’s Anatomy Criminal Minds, Ghost Whisperer And Desperate Housewives. He will continue to be represented by Abel Lezcano from Del, Shaw, Moonves, Tanaka, Finkelstein, Lezcano, Bobb & Dang.