Jamie Tarses, the very first woman to lead a channel media business and break the social barriers for female TV executives, died this morning from problems related to a heart attack she experienced in early September. She was 56 years old at the time.
We are saddened by the passing of Jamie Tarses, an architect of NBC’s Must See TV era. She was a trailblazer for women in entertainment with an unmatched vision for the potential of TV. Her legacy will endure as generations discover those legendary shows.
— NBC Entertainment (@nbc) February 1, 2021
Jamie Tarses, a legendary television executive, was responsible for the creation of such classic series as NBC’s Friends and Frasier, and by the age of 32, she had risen to the top of the network television executive chain, becoming chairman of ABC Entertainment. Tarses, who was bright and incredibly famous, surpassed the media industry to become a unique celebrity who was both respected and criticized. Her time at ABC was marred by the immense strain of the position and the constant scrutiny of the media. Jamie Tarses went on to have a successful second career as a television producer, with credits including ABC’s Happy Endings, TBS’ My Boys, TNT’s Franklin & Bash, and Amazon Prime Video’s The Wilds.
Jamie Tarses never recovered consciousness after the incident, so she missed The Wilds’ breakthrough December premiere and Season 2 renewal, as well as The Mysterious Benedict Society’s strong pre-launch excitement, which was bolstered by Disney’s recent decision to shift the show from Hulu to Disney+.
Jamie Tarses’s Early Life
Sara James Tarses was born in Pittsburgh in 1964 and raised in Los Angeles. Jamie and her brother, TV writer Matt Tarses, also pursued a career in television, following in the path of their father, television screenwriter Jay Tarses.
Jamie Tarses earned a position as an assistant on NBC‘s Saturday Night Live after completing at Williams University with a major in theater in 1985. She started out working for Lorimar Productions as a recruiting director.
Jamie Tarses’ spectacular climb began in September 1987, when NBC President of Entertainment Brandon Tartikoff appointed her as an officer, of creative affairs at NBC Productions. She joined the station three months later, in December 1987, as head of current comedy programs, handling shows including Cheers and A Different World. Jamie Tarses moved to production as a supervisor of comedy development in July 1988 and was promoted to head of comedy development within seven months. She was a part of the creation of successful shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Wings, and Blossom.
Series and No. 2 to Warren Littlefield, NBC’s entertainment president, and Tarses’ mentor. She was a key figure in the production of such iconic NBC sitcoms as Friends, Frasier, NewsRadio, and Mad About You, for which she deserves huge credit.
“Jamie’s development skills were extraordinary,” Littlefield said. “In her NBC days, surrounded by superstar executives, she stood out. She could make writers feel safe and get the most out of them. She fought for them. Understanding writers’ wants and needs probably began by growing up in a household with her dad who wrote and produced comedies. She perfected that understanding as she became a development exec. When she left NBC we knew she would be missed but opportunity knocked at ABC.”
Jamie Tarses attracted the eyes of then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner, who contacted her about becoming head of ABC Entertainment while she was still under employment at NBC in February 1996.
The action sparked business outrage and a media frenzy. Tarses was chosen head of ABC Entertainment in June 1996, after weeks of discussion. She was the very first woman and one of the youngest execs at a major network when she was designated entertainment director at the age of 32.
Jamie Tarses And Media Attention
Jamie Tarses’ celebrity status was strengthened by his high-profile job. It also drew even more media attention to her, with the official press scrutinizing her every move and tabloids chronicling her personal connections.
Tarses created and launched blockbuster comedy series with Chuck Lorre’s Dharma & Greg and Ryan Reynolds‘ Two Guys and a Girl, a smash drama with David E. Kelley’s The Practice, and a critical darling with Aaron Sorkin‘s Sports Night in that high-pressure atmosphere. (She was also in charge of Spin City’s inception and growth.)
“I was lucky to know Jamie. I was lucky to laugh with her,” Reynolds, whose first big role was in Two Guys and a Girl, stated. “She put me on a path I’m still on today. What an incredible life she lived.”
Jamie Tarses had a difficult time negotiating the corporate dynamics necessary for the senior role as ABC’s ratings sank during her first year on the job with a slate she had received, but she persisted as the network’s fortunes improved. After a Disney corporate restructures in 1999, she quit.
Jamie Tarses’ illustrious executive career came to a tumultuous end, launching her second career as a successful television producer. She has produced a flurry of pilots and more than a dozen shows on her own, through her entertainment business FanFare, or in collaboration with high-profile producing partners during the last twenty years.
She went on to be the head of James Burrows’ Three Sisters Productions after departing ABC. She then teamed up with Karey Burke, who is now the chairman of 20th TV, Gavin Polone, and, most recently, Scott Stuber, who is now the President of Netflix Films. Universal Television, Sony Pictures Television, and ABC Signature all offered her overall contracts.
“Jamie was a trailblazer in the truest sense of the word,” said Burke, now President of 20th Television. “She shattered stereotypes and ideas about what a female executive could achieve, and paved the way for others, at a cost to herself. She was a mentor and friend, and many of us owe so much to her. As an executive and producer, she was a champion for storytellers, having been raised by one of the all-time greats. Her talent and contribution to our community will be solely missed.”
The Rise of Jamie Tarses
Happy Endings, The Mayor, and Mr. Sunshine for ABC; Mad Love, written by her brother Matt, and Made in Jersey for CBS; Marry Me for NBC; My Boys and Men at Work for TBS; and Hawthorne and Franklin & Bash for TNT are among the shows Tarses executive produced.
Tarses and Stuber only worked together formally for a short time until he accepted the Netflix position, producing ABC’s The Mayor together, but their close connections span years.
“Jamie had a great sense of humor and the most infectious laugh that always brightened the room,” Stuber said. “Her passion and determination to strive for greatness was something I always admired, and I learned so much from knowing and working with her for over 20 years. She will be greatly missed.”
Jamie Tarses produced Champaign, ILL at YouTube, her third partnership with creator David Caspe following Happy Endings and Marry Me, after a decade and a half of producing for traditional networks. Caspe’s debut series as a producer, Happy Endings, starred Casey Wilson, who later became his wife and also appeared in Marry Me.
“Jamie Tarses is a legend,” Caspe said. “To say she changed my life is a ridiculous understatement. She sold my first show which introduced me to my wife. And then sold a show about me proposing to her. Which we shot while my wife was pregnant with my first child. But my life was only one of the literal thousands that she changed and touched forever. She is a trailblazer, an icon, a champion of writers, new voices, stylish, generous, and kind. So, so kind. But as good as she was at anything, she was an even better friend, mother, and person. I am heartbroken for her family and her enormous family of friends. I love you forever, Boss. Here’s to you.”
With Amazon Prime Video’s The Wilds and Disney+’s upcoming The Mysterious Benedict Society, Tarses has just remade herself as a producer of YA streaming shows. On The Wilds, she was a hands-on executive producer who spent time on set in New Zealand. When Jennifer Salke took over as CEO of Amazon Studios, one of the first projects she approved was The Wilds, which was part of a push into the YA genre.
“Jamie was a titan in the media industry, pioneering female leadership for so many of us,” said Salke. “I knew we were in for a treat if Jamie wanted to share a creative passion. She was never the producer to sit by the side but, rather, felt completely connected to the writer and the creative in every way. It was an honor for us at Amazon Studios to partner with her on The Wilds and her passion and brilliance were felt throughout the series. We will all miss her dearly and our hearts go out to her friends and family.”
Jamie Tarses and Unparalleled Taste Among Executive Ranks
Jamie Tarses blew a hole in the typically male-dominated top TV executive positions, allowing women to enter. Others succeeded her, including current top TV executives Burke, Salke, and Dana Walden, all of whom worked as Head of Programming at one of the Big 4 broadcast networks, a position Tarses formerly held at ABC.
“Jamie’s creative genius sparked culture-defining shows that have spanned decades. She gave an early voice to some of the industry’s most prolific storytellers, and boldly led ABC at a time when the industry saw very few women in leadership roles,” said Walden who now oversees ABC as Chairman of Entertainment, Walt Disney Television, as well Disney TV Studios, which is behind Tarses’ last series, The Wilds and The Mysterious Benedict Society. “She will be remembered as a mentor and role model for many, myself included, and an inspiration to the entire creative community for generations to come.”
Jamie Tarses lately reunited with Betsy Thomas, the creator of My Boys and a dear friend, for Beth & Sam, a half-hour single-camera sitcom executive produced by Jim Parsons and in development at HBO Max.
“Jamie had such a true love for movies, television, theater, books, and ideas that both transcended her work and absolutely inspired it,” said Thomas. “She was the ultimate fan.”
Jamie Tarses was under an overall agreement with her longstanding studio home Sony Pictures TV at the time of her demise, which was responsible for most of her television network shows, including Happy Endings, My Boys, and Franklin & Bash. She was also working on several projects, including Why You Will Marry The Wrong Person, an ABC dramedy written by Matt Tarses and executive directed by Freddie Highmore.
“We were always excited when Jamie called to talk about a project because we knew coming from her it was going to be special – and it was always a long call because we would spend at least half of it talking about life, family, and the state of the business,” the studio said in a statement. “Her unparalleled taste led to the hundreds of episodes of television we made together and we couldn’t be more proud of our joint history, both personally and professionally.”
Jamie Tarses worked as a consultant on Sorkin’s NBC television drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, years after conceiving and approving his first Television show, Sports Night. It starred Amanda Peet as Jordan McDeere, the leader of the fictitious network NBS, a figure largely modeled on Tarses.
Jamie Tarses Personal Life
Tarses said in a brief interview with the Los Angeles Times 14 years ago that the drama properly reflected the world of network TV executive ranks during her 11-year employment, when there were “mainly men and only one woman” in “certain areas.”
Jamie Tarses maintained a “genuine fan of the medium” whether she would be breaking history as the only female executive on the table or creating a series.
“I love television, I really do,” she said.
Tarses is lived with her husband, Paddy Aubrey; their kids, Wyatt and Sloane; her parents, Jay and Rachel Tarses; and her siblings, Matt and Mallory Tarses, as well as three nieces and a nephew.
“For all her talent and success in entertainment, the thing Jamie was proudest of and most consumed by were her two kids,” said Matt Tarses, with whom Jamie frequently collaborated. “She was never happier than when she was with Wyatt and Sloane.”
Jamie Tarses was committed to several charity groups, notably Step Up, Young Storytellers, and Save the Children, in addition to her profession and personal life. She also volunteered at Cedars Sinai Medical Center for many decades.
