FOX Entertainment Names New Heads of Comedy & Animation

FOX Entertainment has named Julia Franz as senior VP of comedy and Daniel Weidenfeld as senior VP of animation.

Franz will be responsible for overseeing all comedy production and development for the network. Franz recently served as head of development for Spectrum Originals, where she helped launch LA’s Finest, starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba, and helped develop its first original half-hour comedy, the reboot of Mad About You.

Weidenfeld will be responsible for overseeing all animated production and development for FOX Entertainment and third-party platforms. For the past decade, Weidenfeld has been a writer and producer on a number of series, including Adult Swim’s Lazor Wulf.

Both report to Michael Thorn, president of entertainment.

“Both Julia and Daniel are fantastic executives with tremendous relationships throughout the creative community,” said Thorn. “As FOX Entertainment doubles down on our commitment both to live-action and animated comedy, these two executives will play key roles in these initiatives.”