Juan Alfonso Joins Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters’ Production Company As Head Of TV
Click here to read the full article.
ABC Studios VP of Drama Development Juan Alfonso is leaving the studio executive ranks to join Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters’ Fazekas & Butters production company, which is based at ABC Studios, now part of Disney Television Studios. Alfonso will serve as Head Of Television, developing and producing projects, identifying writers, IP, and other creative partners.
He will also serve as executive producer of Fazekas & Butters’ upcoming ABC high-concept drama series series Emergence, starring Allison Tolman, which landed on the network’s fall schedule.
More from Deadline
ABC Buys Dark Comedic Soap 'Pushover' From Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters
NBC Buys Mystery Drama 'Emergence' From Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters As Put Pilot
'Kevin (Probably) Saves The World' Creators Promise To Sidestep Clichéd People Of Color Trope - TCA
Alfonso succeeds Robert Atwood who left in March to go to Legendary TV as SVP, Current & Development. Joining Alfonso at Fazekas & Butters will be Victoria Vigo as a Manager of Television.
“We have loved working with Juan over the years because he is above all else, a partner — he fights for your project and believes in your vision,” said Fazekas and Butters. “His extensive experience at the studio is invaluable, he’s smart, collaborative, and just generally a lovely person. We are thrilled he’s our new head of television.”
As VP Drama Development at ABC Studios, Alfonso worked on John Ridley’s praised series American Crime; Secrets & Lies, Grand Hotel, as well as Marvel’s Agent Carter and Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, on both of which Fazekas and Butters served as executive producers/showrunners. (The duo also created Kevin (Probably) Saves the World).
“I’ve been working with Tara & Michele for 5 years on the studio side, and have always been a huge fan of their remarkable brand of smarts, humor and emotion, and the way they manage to blend genres in a way that feels effortless,” said Alfonso. “In this new role, I’m excited to help the company grow by matchmaking talented people and ideas to create meaningful stories that come from a unique perspective.”
Alfonso previously led new content development and production for ESPN International, overseeing the launch of new documentaries, scripted programs and selected studio shows worldwide, including the network’s first foreign language scripted series, El Diez;
Alfonso began his career in ad agencies in New York and San Francisco, working on brands like Miller Lite, Saturn and Adidas. As a playwright, he most recently wrote An Educated Guess, about the modern immigration experience, which had staged readings at Steppenwolf Theatre and New York Theatre Workshop and is in contention for the New Stages Festival in Chicago this fall.
In addition to creating/executive producing Emergence and Kevin (Probably) Saves The World, which starred Jason Ritter,, Fazekas and Butters served as executive producers/showrunners on both Marvel’s Agent Carter and Resurrection on ABC. They also created and executive produced the CW cult hit “Reaper,” and served as writers/producers on NBC’s Law & Order: SVU for five seasons, earning two WGA Award nominations.
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.