Left/Right Expands to Support Growing Scripted Television Slate

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Jul 22, 2015, 11:00 ET

NEW YORK, July 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Left/Right, the Emmy Award-winning production company whose diverse slate of scripted and unscripted programming ranges from Odd Mom Out (Bravo) and donny! (USA) to Mob Wives (VH1) and This American Life (Showtime) today announced the hiring of a new scripted executive and the extension of a long-running collaboration with a key producer/director on their creative team.

Olivia Wingate joins Left/Right as Senior Vice President of Scripted Development where she will be responsible for developing and overseeing new scripted projects, with an emphasis on single-camera comedies. She will report to company co-presidents Ken Druckerman and Banks Tarver. Olivia comes to Left/Right from Avalon Management, where she represented comedy clients such as Marc Maron, John Hodgman, Reggie Watts, Eugene Mirman, Wyatt Cenac, and others. She also served as Executive Producer on the IFC series Maron, along with numerous comedy specials. "I am thrilled to join Ken and Banks and the Left/Right team and help them continue to grow their scripted business. I also look forward to building on the many great relationships that I've developed with some of the smartest and funniest writers and performers in the industry," says Wingate.

Michael LaHaie has extended his overall deal with Left/Right, after serving as a key member of the Left/Right creative team for the last four years on projects including Odd Mom Out, donny!, and Small Town Security. Michael will continue to develop, produce, and direct both scripted and unscripted projects for the company. "The progressive culture at Left/Right inspires me and everyone I collaborate with to develop and execute programming that is bold, funny, and original. I'm excited to keep finding rich new ideas to bring to the screen," says LaHaie.

"These are exciting times for Left/Right, and we are thrilled to be working with Olivia and Mike as we continue our push into scripted programming," says Tarver. "Olivia's stellar reputation and her interest in developing and pitching new projects, along with Mike's unique ability to bring great stories to life, fit perfectly with our presentation-driven approach on scripted projects," added Druckerman.

Left/Right's growth comes on the heels of the critical success and buzz surrounding Odd Mom Out, which has been hailed as "a sweet, frothy surprise" (Wall Street Journal) and "the real deal in scripted comedy" (Los Angeles Times)." The company's second scripted series, donny!, is set to premiere on USA in Q4 2015 with several new comedy and drama projects in development. Left/Right, along with its parent company Red Arrow, is also sponsoring a comedy competition in this year's New York Television Festival.

ABOUT LEFT/RIGHT
LEFT/RIGHT has produced hundreds of hours of television in an extraordinarily eclectic mix of genres ranging from hard-hitting documentaries to side-splitting docu-series, single-camera sitcoms to multi-camera melodramas, and everything in between. Past and present projects range from This American Life (Showtime), the Emmy Award-winning television adaptation of the popular public radio show…to Mob Wives (VH1), the hit series about a group of women who are married to the mob…to Small Town Security (AMC), the surreal and stranger-than-fiction comedy series about a private security business like no other. Our scripted productions include the comedies Odd Mom Out(Bravo) and donny! (USA). The company's documentary unit produces features and specials for networks such as PBS, History, Discovery, and many others. Our shows have been nominated for over a dozen Emmy Awards and have won multiple awards, including the Emmy for Best Nonfiction Series. Left/Right is part of the Red Arrow Entertainment Group, an international production and distribution company. For more information, visit www.leftright.tv.