Lisa Kudrow & Dan Bucatinsky’s Is Or Isn’t Entertainment Taps Samuel Harowitz As SVP Development & Production

Sam Harowitz has joined Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky’s Is Or Isn’t Entertainment as SVP Development and Production. This is the first time Kudrow and Bucatinsky have brought in a senior development executive at the company, which the duo launched 15 years ago.

Harowitz, who comes from FremantleMedia where he served as VP Acquisitions and Co-Productions North America, will work closely with Bucatinsky and Kudrow, as well as VP Kyle McNally and Director of Development Augustus Ceccucci, helping shepherd the company’s scripted and unscripted projects, in addition to overseeing projects under the company’s first-look agreement with Sony Pictures Television in the scripted space.

“Sam has an impressive background in programming, international formats, and distribution,” said Bucatinsky. “He is the perfect collaborator in our quest to broaden our focus and expand our creative slate. Plus he’s got great taste.”

Kudrow and Bucatinsky worked with Harowitz in his previous role at FremantleMedia where he helped roll-out the company’s scripted formats, including Is or Isn’t’s Showtime comedy Web Therapy. Under Harowitz’s supervision, the series has been adapted in a half-dozen territories, including Canada, Spain, and the U.K., with adaptions in Israel and Brazil on the way.

“While Sam was at Fremantle, we worked with him for years on Web Therapy and were always really impressed, so it feels like the perfect fit for him to be working on our other Is or Isn’t projects,” said Kudrow.

At Fremantle Harowitz also acquired and launched Wasted: The Story of Food Waste (Theatrical/Starz), Soundtracks (CNN), The Traffickers (Fusion), Full Circle (DirecTV), Soundbreaking (PBS), Eye Candy (MTV), Project Runway (Lifetime), The Decades (CNN), and Billy and Billie (DirecTV). He also oversaw the flow of internally produced programming to FremantleMedia International’s sales team; including American Gods (Starz), The Returned (A+E), and Wedding Band (TBS).

Previously, Harowitz was the Coordinator of U.S. Scripted Television at Entertainment One, where he worked on such shows as The Firm (NBC), Hell on Wheels (AMC), Saving Hope (NBC), Rookie Blue (ABC), Call Me Fitz (DirecTV), and Haven (Syfy).

Is Or Isn’t Entertainment’s series credits also include HBO comedy The Comeback and unscripted show Who Do You Think You Are?