Melissa Benoist Inks Warner Bros. Overall TV Deal
Supergirl may be ending this year, but star Melissa Benoist will remain in business with producers Warner Bros. Television.
The actress has signed a multiple-year overall TV deal with the indie studio and launched her own company, Three Things Productions. Under the pact, Benoist will develop and produce new projects for Warners. While there is no talent component included in the deal, that won’t exclude the Glee grad from starring in a new project that she also produces.
As part of Three Things Productions, which takes its name from the Mary Oliver poem “Three Things to Remember,” Benoist has enlisted Sahar Kashi to serve as vp development for the company. Kashi joins from Anonymous Content, where she was a creative exec on shows including Apple’s Home Before Dark and Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why. Before that, she had roles on the originals teams at Netflix and Fox.
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“I’ve had a wonderfully supportive home at Warner Bros. for the last six years, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to put on a producer’s hat and continue working with them,” Benoist said. “I approach my work as an actor in search of that magic gut feeling you get when you know something is right. I plan on following those instincts as a producer, approaching each story with passion, playfulness, curiosity, a sure-footed step, and like all things worth taking a risk on, a hint of terror. I can’t wait to collaborate with new voices and find stories that hit the heart in that indefinable way.”
The deal comes as Benoist will hang up her Supergirl cape later this year for The CW after a six-season run that started when the Greg Berlanti-produced drama was set up at CBS. Benoist’s breakout role came when she joined Fox’s mega-hit Glee in season four. Sources note Warners is keen on embracing Benoist’s talents as a singer, and the actress could take on a role that showcases her voice.
“For the last six years, we have been privileged to collaborate with Melissa Benoist as she entertained and inspired audiences around the world in the signature role of Supergirl. Everyone at Warner Bros. Television is extremely excited to continue our partnership with her as a producer. We look forward to working closely with Melissa and her team to develop new and compelling series that reflect her fearless and indomitable spirit,” said Warners exec vp development Clancy Collins White.
Benoist, repped by Felker Toczek, becomes the latest leading lady from a Warners show to sign an overall deal with the studio. Former Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco remains in business with the studio and exec produced (and stars in) HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant. (In an interview with TV’s Top 5, Cuoco said she hopes to deliver a producing slate that is as prolific as super-producer and Flight Attendant EP Berlanti.) Other Big Bang stars also have focused on producing, too, including Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik (Fox’s Call Me Kat).
A launch date for the final season of Supergirl has not been announced. The series was not included in The CW’s “fall” in a move designed to allow production to resume after Benoist returned from maternity leave.