Head of HBO drama Francesca Orsi extends contract, gets updated title

exclusive: As she prepares to celebrate her 20th anniversary at HBO next year, Francesca Orsi has officially extended her contract with the premium network until 2026. Her new role is HBO’s executive vice president of programming, head of drama and drama. of HBO movies.

Orsi is HBO’s local talent. He joined the network in 2003 as an executive assistant to the drama chief and rose through the ranks to be named drama chief at HBO a decade and a half later. For the past six years, since comedian Casey Bloys was promoted to programming president in 2016, Ors has been a key member of his creative team.

In his first appointment as president of HBO programming in 2016, Casey appointed then senior vice president Orsi to co-lead drama. After three years as executive vice president, Orsi became HBO’s sole drama director, a position he has held ever since. In 2020, Orsi’s role expanded to include overseeing HBO Films following the departure of Len Amato. His new title reflects that.

Over the past six years, Orsi has created numerous award-winning and culturally influential series that also helped found HBO Max, including Legacy, Little Lies, Easttown Mare, Watchmen, White Lotus, Euphoriaand, more recently, game of Thrones predecessor dragon house, which garnered HBO’s highest preview audience and was quickly renewed for a second season. A new high-profile HBO drama series is coming an idol Y last among them. As for the film, Ors recently oversaw the Emmy nominated film survived Y Oslo.

“Francesca’s taste, her deep understanding of history and her unmatched relationships with the best creators working today make her a truly exceptional drama executive,” said Blois, chief content officer of HBO and HBO Max. Francesca has decided to continue her long and successful career at HBO and that we will continue to work together for years to come. “

After Bloys accepted a new five-year deal with Warner Bros. following the completion of the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger with Discovery, the safety of its top creative executives became a top priority. It has been successful, as WBD CEO David Zaslav recently noted during the company’s quarterly earnings call.

“Quality is important. Quality is what Casey and this team deliver. This is the best team in the business. We will double the HBO team, “said Zaslav.” Everyone is under contract and we will spend a lot more this year and next year than last year. “

He then added: “Most of the people on Casey’s team are stuck.”