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 A Member Profile by Chris Davison, chris@lthmedia.com
Debbee Klein is Co-Head, Television Literary, at Paradigm. Debbee began her Hollywood career while still in college and has since worked in many areas of the business, from development to production to representation. I recently had a chance to interview Debbee to discuss Marc Cherry, Norman Lear and new financing opportunities.
Q: Can you tell us about your background and what made you want to be an agent?
-my life as an agent began when I was 21 years old. I had always wanted to be part of the TV business and was lucky enough to find a part time job while in college working with Norman Lear’s production company. He allowed me to observe everything they did at the company as well as sit in on high level meetings. The company encouraged us to learn as much about the business as we could and insisted that we be involved in all aspects of production. During that time I was able to meet many agents involved with the "cutting edge" programming we were known for. It really influenced me to pursue what I thought would be the perfect career for myself.
Q: What is your decision-making process when considering a potential new client?
-strong original material usually drives our decisions. I feel that our client, Marc Cherry, helped re-define exactly what kind of material is acceptable to spec. Six or seven years ago not too many writers would embark on original material if not already pitched and sold to a network. The common practice was for writers to spec episodes of existing television series to either get themselves staff positions or use it to display their talents to a buyer when pitching an original concept. Marc proved that an original idea (with a great working title) can be "worth its weight in gold".
Q: When do you know that you’ve got a script that could become a successful series?
-every so often a script comes along that seems so perfect in every way that you can’t help become involved in the creative process and the excitement it generates. I have to trust my taste and judgment, and at the end of the day, count on those instincts to sell the show. Marc Cherry and “Desperate Housewives” is the gold standard of that concept and this year our clients Robert and Michelle King had an idea which was “what if the wife of one of the philandering, disgraced politicians had to go back to work to support her family.” That immediately resonated to us and to Nina Tassler at CBS and it turned into “The Good Wife,” which is a big new series hit for CBS.
Q: What sorts of opportunities do you see for your clients over the next few years?
-we are actively involved in bringing new financing opportunities to our clients. The traditional network development process, although important, is not the only way to succeed. We manage several funds that have placed their interests in our hands. The merger between our artists and these funds has enormous potential for success. It works best with Showrunners who have tremendous experience with the production process and know how to manage a realistic budget to put the money on the screen and not be wasted on unnecessary overhead expenses. We expect to have many hours of programming on the air in 2010 that will be privately financed and that’s a very exciting new opportunity for our clients.
Q: Anything you would like to add?
-I’ve been a member of HRTS for many, many years and have always enjoyed the lunches and the camaraderie that the events generate. When I started in the business, the TV executives were not thought of in the same light as the movie executives, but that has changed 180 degrees. Now Les Moonves, Barry Meyer, Bob Iger, Jeff Zucker and until just recently Peter Chernin were all running five of the six biggest companies in the Entertainment business and they all made their reputations in Television. The quality of programming on broadcast network, basic cable and pay cable television is off the charts. It’s a great creative time in the Television industry and the recent record breaking syndication sales of “NCIS: Los Angeles” for CBS Paramount which we packaged for our client Shane Brennan and “The Mentalist” for Warner Bros. is great news for the entire television business and a strong indication that the business has made a very positive turn for the better.
That is a long way of saying that I am proud to have been asked to join this prestigious board and hope to bring a fresh perspective to all things HRTS and continue to celebrate the successes of the Television industry!
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