TELEVISION VETERAN BRAD JOHNSON HEADS TO CMT AS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, COMEDY DEVELOPMENT
11/04/09
LOS ANGELES – November 4, 2009 – Brad Johnson has joined CMT as Senior Vice President, Comedy Development, it was announced today by Bob Kusbit, head of development, CMT. In this newly-created position, Johnson will oversee all aspects of comedy development for the channel, including sitcoms and reality-based comedy. Johnson will be based in Los Angeles and report to Kusbit, effective immediately.
“Brad has a fantastic track record and has been instrumental in developing and creating some of television’s most successful comedies,” said Kusbit. “As a former studio executive, producer and writer, Brad has a unique talent for finding great comedy and is passionate about discovering the next great comedy project for CMT.”
A former comedy executive at Twentieth Century Fox, Johnson was responsible for developing such shows as “The Simple Life,” “American Dad,” “Reba,” “The Bernie Mac Show,” “Arrested Development,” Still Standing” and “My Name Is Earl.” During his four-year stint at the studio, three of the shows he developed earned Emmy Awards for best writing.
Prior to his success at Fox, Johnson ran Barry Kemp's successful television company, Bungalow 78 Productions. While there, he began writing and producing, later becoming the showrunner for the long-running sitcom, “Coach” and serving as executive producer on the ABC and UPN series, “Clueless.”
Johnson began his television career at ABC Sports, and then moved to Showtime, where he developed cable's first sitcom, “Brothers,” “Faerie Tale Theatre” and “The Paper Chase,” among others. Johnson later went on to Universal Television, where he ran the comedy department and developed the long-running sitcoms, “Major Dad” and “Coach.”
In 2004, Johnson returned to writing and producing, forming Watson Pond Productions, the company behind the Fox series, “Unhitched.” Most recently, Johnson was writer and executive producer on the Comedy Central/BBC series, “Kröd Mändoon and The Flaming Sword of Fire.”
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