Universal Media Studios Signs Development & Production Deals

UNIVERSAL CITY: Universal Media Studios has signed a new overall production deal with Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks and Recreation), in addition to securing a development agreement with Gary Sanchez Productions Television, set up by executive producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.

The deal with Daniels is for the production of live-action, animated and reality shows over the next two years. Daniels developed The Office for U.S. audiences in 2005. He also serves as a co-creator and executive producer on Parks and Recreation. His credits also include work on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons and King of the Hill.

Additionally, a development deal is in place with Gary Sanchez Productions Television, which has produced feature films such as Step Brothers (with Apatow Productions), The Other Guys, The Virginity Hit and the upcoming Casa de mi Padre, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Doctors and Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie. Ferrell and McKay are also behind the Funny or Die video website, among numerous other projects.

"We are very fortunate to continue our productive creative relationship with Greg Daniels, a gifted and extremely versatile producer-writer who has had great success in live-action, animated and sketch comedy," said Robert Greenblatt, the chairman of NBC Entertainment.
"This new deal allows him great artistic freedom in a wide variety of television genres, and we know that the best is yet to come. One of our focuses will be to return Greg to prime-time animation, for which he had particular success with King of the Hill‚ when he and I worked together at FBC."

"I couldn’t be more thrilled about this deal to work with Bob Greenblatt and his great new team," commented Daniels. "My producing partner, Howard Klein, who successfully hid my recent devastating stroke during negotiations, is helping me learn to read and feed myself again, and I should be able to get dressed and sit in the sun before the two years are up. I have already produced a big piece of construction paper with blue scribbles on it, which might be a treatment for a reality show. I think Bob’s going to like it a lot."

"This development deal with Will and Adam is a major step forward for our studio," added Greenblatt. "They know how to make people laugh, aren’t afraid to take risks, and are among the elite of the entertainment industry’s creative leaders."