20th Century Fox SVPs Dana Sharpless and Steve Sicherman have been named co-heads of the studio’s Current Programming department. They will succeed Carolyn Cassidy who was promoted to President of Creative Affairs in July.
Reporting to Cassidy, Sharpless and Sicherman will oversee Disney TV Studios unit’s slate of live-action series for all networks, cable and streaming services. Sharpless will manage the studio’s drama series; Sicherman will be in charge of comedies.
“I feel very fortunate to hand over the current programming team to Dana and Steve, who have been tremendous contributors to the success of 20th,” Cassidy said. “They are smart, strategic and beloved by all producers, writers and directors they work with as well as everyone inside our company.”
Sicherman started at 20th TV as Director of Comedy followed by stints as VP of Current and Drama Development. He has worked on such series as This Is Us, Bless This Mess, Last Man Standing, Speechless, Life In Pieces, How I Met Your Mother, American Horror Story, Arrested Development, Glee, Raising Hope, Bernie Mac, New Girl, The Carmichael Show, Better Off Ted, Reba, Perfect Harmony, The Mick, and Disney+’s upcoming Love, Simon.
Prior to joining 20th TV, Sicherman worked as Director of Series Development at MTV Productions and as Creative Executive for the Columbia TriStar TV-based Paul Stupin Prods., where he was involved in the development and production of Dawson’s Creek.
Sharpless began her career as an assistant in the 20th Century Fox TV drama department working her way up to her current position as SVP of Current Programming. She has worked on such series as American Horror Story, 9-1-1, Empire, Star, Scream Queens, The Last Man On Earth, 24, Prison Break and the upcoming 9-1-1: Lone Star.