Sam Linsky Named Senior Vice President of Current Programming for TNT and TBS

Sam Linsky has been promoted to senior vice president, current programming, TNT and TBS. Linsky most recently served as vice president of current programming for TNT. In his new role, Linsky will continue to be based in Los Angeles and report to Michael Wright, executive vice president, head of programming, TBS, TNT and Turner Classic Movies (TCM).

Linsky is a key behind-the-scenes player who is responsible for the creative oversight of TNT’s crop of established hits. He will now add duties involving TBS. “Sam is an outstanding executive and an essential member of our team,” Wright said. “He’s made key contributions to the growth and continued success of TNT’s original programming, and the relationships he has developed with our creative partners are invaluable. In this new role, we are acknowledging and formalizing his leadership role at Turner.”

Linsky’s successful track record includes supervising current production of TNT’s The Closer, which ranks as ad-supported cable’s #1 series of all time, and Saving Grace. Linsky is also overseeing production of Raising the Bar, from creator Steven Bochco; Leverage, from executive producer Dean Devlin; and production of new series on TNT. Previously, Linsky worked on TNT’s high-profile miniseries and limited series, including Into the West, Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King and The Company.

Linsky joined TNT in 1997 as assistant to the vice president of original programming. He worked his way up to manager and then director. He came to TNT from Castle Rock Entertainment, where he served as assistant to the vice president of production, providing story notes on projects in development and coordinating incoming and outgoing submissions.

Turner Network Television (TNT), one of cable’s top-rated networks, is television’s destination for drama and home to such original series as the acclaimed and highly popular detective drama The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick; Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter; Raising the Bar, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jane Kaczmarek; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; HawthoRNe, with Jada Pinkett Smith; and Dark Blue, starring Dylan McDermott. TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, Cold Case, Law & Order, Without a Trace, ER and Charmed; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.