TV Land has a new president of development and production: Keith Cox, formerly EVP of development and original programming, has been promoted.
Cox isn’t filling the void left by former president Larry Jones, who left TV Land and parent company Viacom a year and a half ago as part of a reorganization at the beleaguered media conglomerate, but he is the top dog at the network. He’ll report to Cyma Zarghami, head of Viacom’s kids and family network group.
“Keith has been instrumental in shaping TV Land’s original series over the last 10 years, first by bringing ‘Hot in Cleveland’ to the network in 2010, and by continuing to attract top-tier creative and talent from across the industry,” said Zarghami.
Cox has been with the network for a decade. He was tasked with turning the network from the home of “Everybody Loves Raymond” repeats into a destination for original programming. He oversaw the development of TV Land’s first original series, “Hot in Cleveland,” and also brought the network “The Exes” and “The Soul Man.” All three were multi-camera sitcoms, and all three have finished their runs. “The Soul Man,” most recently, ended after five seasons.
In 2015, TV Land took a turn for the single-cam, with the premiere of “Younger,” the Sutton Foster-starring comedy from “Sex and the City” creator Darren Star. Other single-cam projects followed, with the recently concluded “The Jim Gaffigan Show” and Michael Rosenbaum comedy “Impastor.” “Younger” has been renewed for a fourth season; Season 3 premieres on Sept. 28.
Other originals in the works at TV Land include an unscripted late night series (“Throwing Shade”), a “Heathers” series, a comedy from Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone, and a remake of “The First Wives Club” starring Alyson Hannigan, Megan Hilty and Vanessa Lachey.
Prior to joining TV Land, Cox oversaw comedy and reality development at Warner Bros. TV. Before bringing the world “Veronica’s Closet” and “Beauty and the Geek,” he worked at FX.