Jenny Bicks has signed an overall deal with Lionsgate TV, Deadline reports. The new pact sees the Emmy winner developing and producing original series for the studio.
Perhaps best known for her work as an exec producer and writer on “Sex and the City,” Bicks’ other TV credits include “The Big C,” “Men in Trees,” and “Dawson’s Creek.” Her most recent gig — as exec producer and showrunner of HBO’s second season of “Divorce” — reunited her with “Sex and the City” star Sarah Jessica Parker.
“Divorce’s” fate is unknown as this point, but if the comedy is renewed for a third season, Bicks’ fellow “Sex and the City” alumna Liz Tuccillo will serve as showrunner.
On the big screen, Bicks is credited as a co-writer on “Rio 2” and Hugh Jackman-starrer “The Greatest Showman.”
“Jenny has helmed some of the most iconic television series and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome her to our creative team,” said Lionsgate EVP and Head of Worldwide Scripted Television Chris Selak. “She’s an incredibly talented multi-hyphenate, and we look forward to working with her on premium, breakthrough original programming for our television slate.”
Bicks added, “I’ve always enjoyed Lionsgate’s cutting-edge programming. They’re not afraid to support a creator’s unique vision and I’m excited to add my voice to their chorus.”
Earlier this year, Bicks was asked if she felt her voice has been “listened to and heard” throughout her career. “I started in the mid-90s, in sitcom. At that time, they were still doing these huge sitcom rooms of 15 people, and it would literally be 14 guys and me,” she recalled. “It was good training ground for me, in that you have to understand what their misconceptions are about women and you have to learn to fight it. Nobody is going to fight that battle for you, so you have to fight it and stay in it and hope to change it.”
“At that point, were people listening? No. But, I was a staff writer and I was just trying to get my jokes in,” she explained. “They had to realize that I wasn’t gonna cry. There was that thing, especially back then, of, ‘Whatever you do, don’t cry in the room ‘cause that’s the end of you. Don’t draw attention to yourself, in any way. Play along.’ And then, as I got more credentials, my voice was heard, but ‘Sex and the City’ had a lot to do with that. That show was very female-driven. Michael Patrick King ran it and he taught us all to have our own voices, and we came out of that feeling pretty confident. We all really learned a lot from that show. Had I not had that credential, I don’t know if people would have listened to me, in that way. It’s still a huge problem. In movies, it’s a huge problem.”
Back in spring 2017, “Power” creator Courtney Kemp signed a multi-year overall deal with Lionsgate and Starz.
