Jenny Bicks Joins ‘Divorce’ As New Showrunner Under Overall Deal With HBO

Former Sex and the City executive producer Jenny Bicks is returning to HBO and reuniting with the star and fellow executive producer of the iconic 1998 comedy series, Sarah Jessica Parker.

Bicks has signed an overall deal with HBO. Under the pact, she has joined the network’s dark comedy series Divorce, created and executive produced by Sharon Horgan and starring Parker, as executive producer and showrunner for the upcoming second season. She replaces Paul Simms, who is exiting over creative differences. Filming will start after Bicks takes a few weeks to work on scripts. Horgan, who is juggling two series, Divorce and the Channel 4/Amazon comedy Catastrophe, continues to be integrally involved creatively.

“While we’ve decided to part ways on this particular project, we appreciate having Paul as a trusted collaborator and friend,” HBO said in a statement to Deadline. “We look forward to picking up the conversation with our new showrunner Jenny Bicks as we embark on the second season of Divorce.“

Divorce, which marks Parker’s first series since Sex and the City, is considered a spiritual successor to the Emmy-winning 1998-2004 comedy. Parker stars as a middle-aged woman who impulsively brings up the idea of divorce with her husband (Thomas Haden Church) but then can’t decide whether to go through with it — until her husband discovers the affair she’s been having and calls the marriage off.

Bicks served as executive producer/showrunner on the Showtime dark comedy series The Big C, created by Darlene Hunt, and created and executive produced the ABC dramedy Men in Trees and the NBC Studios comedy Leap of Faith.

At HBO, Bicks recently co-wrote and executive produced the Whitney Cummings comedy pilot A Lot. On the feature side, she co-wrote the upcoming P.T. Barnum movie musical The Greatest Showman starring  Hugh Jackman.

Bicks earned three WGA Award nominations for her work on Sex and the City and shared in the show’s best comedy series Emmy Award and two PGA Awards. She is repped by UTA and attorney Ken Richman.

Simms previously worked on HBO comedy series Girls, Bored to Death and Flight of the Conchords.