Reshuffle on the cards at NBC

NBC Entertainment looks set to name its new executive development team – a hot subject of the rumour mill for the past few days.

Recent reports suggest NBC drama VP Michael Thorn is leaving the network, on the heels of news that senior VP of comedy Cheryl Dolins is also departing.

Laura Lancaster, meanwhile, is tipped to take over as head of drama development at the NBC Universal Television Studio arm. Lancaster, currently a VP of drama at NBC Universal, will succeed Katherine Pope, who is said to be moving to the network to work alongside NBC Entertainment head Kevin Reilly.

Pope is one of a number of former NBC execs who moved over to NBC Universal TV Studio nine months ago but who are now returning to NBC as part of this latest executive shake-up.

The previous shift saw NBC reorganise its comedy and drama development executives into separate teams to handle projects produced through the NBC Universal TV Studio and those hailing from external sources. The net has decided to scrap that set-up in favour of a more traditional development hierarchy.