Berlanti hires CBS alum for production

US showrunner Greg Berlanti’s company Berlanti Productions has appointed a former CBS Television Studios staffer as senior VP of production.

Karyn Smith-Forge

Karyn Smith-Forge has joined the production company, which is part of Warner Bros Television and is behind shows such as The Flash, Arrow, Riverdale, Supergirl and Blindspot.

She will oversee all of the company’s TV series in production, working with the showrunners of each series to hire directors and writers, while handling other aspects of production.

Smith-Forge will also work with Sarah Schechter, president of production, and Ryan Lindenberg, VP of development. Smith-Forge worked at CBS TV Studios between 2012 and 2017, when she left her position as senior VP of cable programming to join talent and literary agency Verve.

The firm has also promoted Jimmy Gibbons to the role of director of production. Gibbons joined in 2014 as Berlanti’s assistant and the new role marks his first executive post.

The company’s forthcoming shows include Titans, You, Deception and the so-far untitled Sabrina the Teenage Witch project at Netflix.

It also has three pilot orders in the works this season, with God Friended Me at CBS, Most Likely To at ABC and Spencer at The CW.