Chicken Soup’s Halcyon Studios hires Dara Cohen to lead scripted projects

LA-based Halcyon Studios, owned by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (CSSE) and run by David Ellender, has appointed Dara Cohen as its VP of scripted entertainment.

Dara Cohen

Cohen, who was previously a consultant for A+E, History and Lifetime and also served as VP of content strategy at Island/Def Jam Records, will oversee the development of Halcyon’s future projects and shepherd its current slate, including Dinotopia, Death Line and The Untitled James Ellroy Project.

Halcyon Studios, launched in 2020, produces projects such as Hunters for Amazon Prime, Mr Mercedes for Peacock and Mysterious Benedicts Society for Disney.

Last month, the company unveiled a raft of in-development projects, among them an adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea and an adaptation of author Paul Theroux’s Under The Wave at Waimea. Both projects are also being overseen by Cohen.

Earlier in her career, Cohen worked at USA Network, CourtTV, Revolution Studios, SyFy Channel, Red Hour Films and the Mark Gordon Company.

Her credits include DIY Networks’ The Deck Doctor, House of Joy for NUVOtv, Lifetime’s Ring of Fire: The June Carter Cash Story and USA Network’s Return to Cabin by the Lake.