Former ABC programmer to head Imagine Television

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Veteran programmer Francie Calfo has been tapped as president of Imagine Television, the boutique studio nestled within Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s entertainment company, a company official confirmed Thursday.

Calfo will replace David Nevins, who is leaving Imagine Aug. 1 to run programming for Showtime Networks, the premium cable channel owned by CBS Corp. Calfo is expected to step into her new role at Imagine sometime in next few weeks, said Michael Rosenberg, spokesman for Imagine Entertainment.

Imagine Television, financed by 20th Century Fox Television, produces such network dramas as ‘Parenthood,’ ‘Lie to Me’ and ‘Friday Night Lights.’Calfo was a longtime programming executive at Walt Disney Co.’s ABC network and its in-house production unit. She left the executive suites several years ago to try her hand at producing. Calfo is currently an executive producer of ABC’s summer show ‘Scoundrels,’ starring Virginia Madsen, which despite a promising cast has produced tepid ratings.

For TV trivia hounds, Francie Calfo also was the name of a character on ABC’s J.J. Abrams spy drama ‘Alias,’ a show that Calfo helped shepherd during her days at Touchstone Television, which has since morphed into ABC Studios.

-- Meg James