Fox 21 Taps Chris Carlisle as President

Former FX and New Line marketing chief Chris Carlisle has been named president of Fox 21, the 20th Century Fox TV production unit behind “Sons of Anarchy” and “Beauty and the Geek.” Mr. Carlisle will be the first executive to hold a president’s title at Fox 21. The unit, which was founded in 2004 as a home for lower-cost production, had previously been overseen by senior VP of Creative Affairs Jane Francis. Ms. Francis is staying at the company and will continue to have day-to-day oversight of Fox 21’s current programming and its development slate. She will report to Mr. Carlisle, while Mr. Carlisle will report to 20th chairmen Dana Walden and Gary Newman. Mr. Carlisle is being brought in to expand Fox 21’s domestic and international productions and to build the Fox 21 brand, creating what the company called “a distinct programming identity through which all series development will be filtered.” That approach is one used frequently at cable networks such as FX and USA, but it hasn’t been as ... (link)