Fresh Off the Boat Creator Inks Pod Deal with 20th Century Fox TV

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HOLLYWOOD: Nahnatchka Khan, creator of the ABC comedy series Fresh Off the Boat, has set up a production pod housed within Twentieth Century Fox Television.

The deal will see Khan create, write, develop and supervise TV projects under her Fierce Baby Productions banner, in addition to continuing to serve as showrunner and executive producer of Fresh Off the Boat. Former 20th Century Fox TV executive Mandy Summers will serve as Fierce Baby’s head of development. Together, Khan and Summers will manage the company’s development slate and identify promising writers and projects for Khan to develop and supervise.

Summers has worked at the studio since 2003, most recently as the VP of current programming, overseeing Khan’s Fresh Off the Boat and Don’t Trust the B****, as well as Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother and Bones. During her tenure, she worked closely with creators such as Khan, Hart Hanson, Steve Levitan, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, as well as directors Ian Toynton and Pam Fryman. She began her career at Alliance Atlantis.

“Nahnatchka is a brilliant comedic mind who can write material that runs the gamut—from projects as twisted and wickedly funny as her beloved Don’t Trust the B**** to the inspired and broadly appealing Fresh Off the Boat,” commented Twentieth Century Fox Television’s president of creative affairs, Jonnie Davis. “We’ve been in business with her all the way back to the first season of American Dad, and if it’s up to us, she’ll never work anywhere else. She’s both a spectacular talent and a dear friend to everyone at this studio, and we’re thrilled she’ll continue to create and develop new projects here for many years to come.”

Khan said: “I’ve been incredibly lucky to be at 20th for basically the entire run of my professional career. Thanks to Jonnie Davis and Howard Kurtzman for making this happen and for being the best partners in the game. And a huge thanks to Dana Walden and Gary Newman for always encouraging and supporting me; I’m proud to be on their team. And if Kim Kardashian decides to release a Snapchat video of me saying anything different, she’ll be hearing from my lawyers.”