CBS hires for miniseries push

US broadcaster CBS is bolstering its miniseries offering by appointing Stacy Mandelberg as its VP of limited series and event programming.

Mandelberg was most recently been senior VP of Von Zerneck/Sertner Films, which made miniseries Category 7 for CBS.

In her  newly created position, she will acquire, develop and oversee production of short-run scripted programming and report to both CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler and CBS Television Studios president David Stapf.

The move reflects the growing importance of limited series and event shows in US broadcasting.

NBC appointed Quinn Taylor to oversee miniseries in June, while FX Networks made its own appointment last year. Parent company Fox Network recently brought in feature film veteran Jeni Mulein to strengthen its event series programming.

Tassler said: “We believe there is viewer demand for scripted projects, with built-in promotional appeal, that air over a few days, or maybe a couple weeks. It is programming that can complement our regular series and live event specials, and offer scheduling opportunities at various points of the year as an alternative to repeats.”

Stapf added: “There is a lot of interest from writers, producers and actors to tell shorter-form stories that make noise in the industry as well as on a network’s schedule. This position formally establishes a point person to facilitate the pitching, development and production process.”