Ellen DeGeneres Extends Relationship With Warner Bros. Televison Group

Burbank, CA – Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is extending her relationship with the Warner Bros. Television Group by signing a multiyear exclusive deal with Warner Bros. Television.

Under this new deal, DeGeneres and A Very Good Production will develop and serve as an executive producer on television projects with different production divisions of WBTVG, including scripted primetime programs for Warner Bros. Television, scripted and unscripted broadcast and cable series for Warner Horizon Television, and syndicated programming with Telepictures Productions, which produces the Emmy Award-winning “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” And, as DeGeneres has proven her reach in social media as a leader on Twitter, with over 5 million followers (5,370,602 as of 10.20.10), and with over three million Facebook followers, Warner Bros. will also have a first -look deal with DeGeneres on social media and other digital gaming ideas.

The deal was announced today by Hilary Estey McLoughlin, President, Telepictures Productions, and Peter Roth, President, Warner Bros. Television.

“I’m so happy to be expanding my relationship with Warner Bros. It’s kind of becoming a family affair. My brother works on the lot and fingers crossed, my mother’s up for the role of Charlie Sheen’s love interest on ‘Two and a Half Men.’ So this is really working out,” said DeGeneres.

“Ellen is an incredible partner to Telepictures and Warner Bros. and has great taste and producing instincts. We are looking forward to having someone of Lauren’s caliber on board and to collaborating with both of them to expand her brand,” said Estey McLoughlin.

DeGeneres has named Lauren Corrao to the position of President at A Very Good Production.

"Ellen is an inspiration and a pioneer both personally and professionally and I’ve always been a huge fan of hers. I feel incredibly lucky to be charged with capturing her brand as a producer and building this company together from the ground up,” said Corrao.

Most recently, Corrao held the post of President, Original Programming and Head of Development for Comedy Central, where she was responsible for the development and supervision of all original programming on Comedy Central. Corrao joined Comedy Central in 2002 as Senior Vice President, Original Programming and Head of Development, and was instrumental in developing ratings-winners such as “The Sarah Silverman Program,” “RENO 911!,” “Important Things with Demetri Martin,” “Mind of Mencia,” “Drawn Together ” and “Chappelle’s Show.” Corrao was promoted to Executive Vice President, Original Programming and Development in 2005 and was named President, Original Programming and Development in 2007.

Prior to joining Comedy Central in 2002, Corrao and her partner Peter Tolan secured a production deal at Touchstone Television where she served as Executive Producer on several projects, including the critically acclaimed series “The Job” starring Denis Leary. Previously, Corrao spent four years at Fox Broadcasting Co. serving as Vice President of Comedy Development and Vice President of Alternative and Late Night Development, where she helped develop such hits as “That ’70s Show,” “MADtv” and “King of the Hill.” Corrao began her television career at MTV where she rose to the rank of Vice President and Executive Producer and began the network’s first non-music program development department.

About Warner Bros. Television:

Warner Bros. Television is one of the entertainment industry’s most respected providers of original content, producing award-winning drama and comedy series for both broadcast network television and cable. For the 2010–11 television season, WBTV is currently producing more than 25 primetime series, with at least two shows on each of the five broadcast networks, in addition to cable’s TNT, Adult Swim and Showtime. WBTV’s continuing series include the 2009–10 TV season’s #1 scripted program among Adults 18–49 in “The Big Bang Theory,” TV’s #1 comedy among Total Viewers in “Two and a Half Men,” “Chuck,” “The Closer,” “Fringe,” “Gossip Girl,” “Human Target,” “The Mentalist,” “The Middle,” “One Tree Hill,” “Smallville,” “Southland,” “Supernatural,” “V,” “The Vampire Diaries” and more. WBTV’s new programs include the comedies “S#*! My Dad Says,” “Better with You,” “Mike & Molly,” “The Paul Reiser Show” (midseason) and “Childrens Hospital,” along with the one-hour dramas “Chase,” “Harry’s Law” (midseason), “Hellcats,” “Nikita,” “Shameless,” “Undercovers” and “The Whole Truth.”

About Warner Horizon Television:

Warner Horizon Television is one of the entertainment industry’s fastest-growing television companies, specializing in the creation of scripted series for the cable marketplace, and primetime reality series for both network and cable. Founded in 2006, this second production entity allows the Warner Bros. Television Group to expand its programming offerings and explore creative options made possible under a new business model. WHTV is currently producing more than a dozen series. WHTV’s unscripted shows are “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette,” “Bachelor Pad” and “True Beauty” for ABC, “School Pride” for NBC, “High School Reunion” for TV Land and “Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew” for MTV. Scripted programs from WHTV are “Rizzoli & Isles,” “Memphis Beat” and “Dark Blue” for TNT, “Pretty Little Liars” for ABC Family, “Rubicon” for AMC, “Glory Daze” for TBS and “Unnatural History” for Cartoon Network.

About Telepictures Productions:

For the current 2010–11 season, Telepictures Productions – an industry-leading and Emmy Award–winning producer of syndicated programming (having garnered 62 Emmys in 14 years, including Outstanding Talk Show or Outstanding Talk Show Host for 12 of the last 14 years) – is producing six first-run strips. Telepictures’ series include the eighth season of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”; the fourth season of “TMZ”; the 17th season of the pop culture newsmagazine “Extra”; the 12th season of the hour-long court series “Judge Mathis”; the 27th season of “The People’s Court”; and the third season of “Judge Pirro.” “Judge Pirro” and “The People’s Court” recently received nominations for the Daytime Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Legal/Courtroom program category. This season, the CW will air “The Best of Tyra,” derived from the five seasons of the Emmy Award-winning “The Tyra Show,” the one-hour daily talk show which serves as a young woman’s guide to life, hosted by Tyra Banks.

About “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”:

“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” is produced by A Very Good Production and WAD Productions, Inc., in association with Telepictures Productions, an industry-leading and Emmy Award-winning producer of syndicated programming, and it is distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” has now earned an impressive 31 Daytime Emmy Awards in the seven seasons since its inception in 2003. “The Ellen DeGeneres Show“ has been renewed through 2013–2014, on the owned-and-operated television stations of the NBC Local Media Division. The three-year extension will take ”Ellen" through its 11th season on the air as it continues to air in high profile time periods on NBC’s 10 owned-and-operated stations.