ABC’s Rachel Bendavid To Lead BBC Studios & Lionsgate TV Partnership
EXCLUSIVE: Longtime ABC drama executive Rachel Bendavid has left the network to head BBC Studios & Lionsgate TV programming venture, I have learned. She succeeds Dan McDermott who left in March to become president of original programming of AMC and co-president of AMC Studios.
Bendavid spent the last decade as VP drama development at ABC. Prior to that she was a drama development executive at Fox, including a stint as co-head of the department.
Bendavid’s resume include a four-year tenure at Spelling TV, the last two as SVP of series development, and a stint as director of series television at Lifetime.
In BBC Studios and Lionsgate’s TV partnership got off to a strong start, with a number of sales in its first development cycle and two pilot orders — both comedy — for Fox’s This Country and CBS’ Ghosts. The venture’s goal is to identify, co-develop and co-fund scripted formats and original IP for the U.S. market. Bendavid will oversee the operation and shepherd its content plans.
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