TV writer and playwright Bash Doran (Beef, Life After Life) was given an exclusive deal from Paramount Television Studios to produce an original scripted series with partner Mallory Baysek (Realization, Molly at the Arcadia) through their company, Pete’s Uncle. According to Deadline, the negotiation started before Paramount’s merger with Warner bros. Discovery closed.
Doran is working on both sides of the combined company with upcoming series for Paramount and HBO. The HBO Max drama series How to Survive Without Me’s pilot was developed and written by her and her co-writer Greg Berlanti (Brilliant Minds, You). Berlanti is also the showrunner to the show. The show stars Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond, Ice Age), Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory, 8 Simple Rules) and Joshua Jackson (Dawson’s Creek, Fringe). The series was ordered for a six-episode straight-to-series and was given 15-epsiode order. Doran also wrote Paramount+ limited series Fear Not for MGM Television, with Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada, Verity) starring in it.
Doran will join PTVS’ talent, including Yellowjackets creators Ashley Lyle (Narcos: Mexico, The Originals) and Bart Nickerson (Narcos: Mexico, Narcos), Iron Ocean’s Jessica Biel (7th Heaven, The Sinner) and Michelle Purple (The Sinner, Cruel Summer), The Wheel of Time Rafe Judkins (Uncharted, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), and Avatar: The Last Airbender writer and executive producer Christine Boylan (Hoss, Poker Face). She will also joint pacts with CBS Studios for Liz Tigelaar (Little Fires Everywhere, Tiny Beautiful Things), Paramount Pictures for Issa Rae (Insecure, American Fiction) and Jon M. Chu (Wicked, The Company You Keep), and with DTC divisions for the Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things).
President of Paramount Television Studios Matt Thunell said: “Bash is a master storyteller whose work is audacious, bold, and singular. She is a force of nature, and we are honored that Bash chosen PTVS as her creative home. We can’t wait to build with her.”
Doran has also created and executive produced Traitors (2023- ) for Netflix. For other shows, she was co-executive producer to Hulu’s The Looming Tower (2018), consulting producer to Netflix’s Beef (2023-2026), writer-producer to NBC’s Smash (2012-2013), Showtime’s Masters of Sex (2013-2016), and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014). For films, Doran co-wrote the Netflix film Outlaw King (2018) with director David Mackenzie (Homemade, Hell or High Water) and the actor Chris Pine (Hell or High Water, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves). Her next movie Henry is shooting this year with actor Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Conclave) and being financed StudioCanal.
Doran said: “I am immensely looking forward to building a relationship with Matt, Shelley Zimmerman, and the team at Paramount Television Studios. I am thrilled to have been given the resources to build my slate at a single home. My hope is to create story after story that delivers on the epic, the intimate and timeliness and attracts the highest caliber of creative collaborators.”