(The Hollywood Reporter) — Former Imagine Television executive Katie O’Connell has been appointed to head a newly-formed New York development unit at NBC Entertainment designed to help the peacock cast a wider net in the East Coast-based creative community.
O’Connell, who was executive VP development and current programming at Imagine, will report to Ghen Maynard, NBC executive VP primetime development.
O’Connell “will be instrumental in cultivating the East Coast’s immense pool of creative talent that can often be lost under the radar in Los Angeles,” NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly said.
She will be closely involved in development projects with “Saturday Night Live” chieftain Lorne Michaels and “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” host O’Brien, both of whom have development deals with NBC.
O’Connell has spent the past five years at Imagine, where she helped shepherd Fox’s “24” and the Emmy-winning “Arrested Development,” among other projects.
Before joining Imagine, O’Connell worked in comedy development at CBS.
