Liz Garbus and Dan Cogan’s Story Syndicate production company is launching its own scripted film and television division, PvNew has learned exclusively.
The new division will be headed up by Nellie Reed, who is joining Story Syndicate from Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson’s Color Force. In addition, Story Syndicate has signed a first-look deal with Tomorrow Studios for its scripted television projects. Reed will work out of Tomorrow Studios’ Los Angeles offices.
“Dan and Liz are incredible storytellers whose work we have admired for years — what they have accomplished in the non-fiction space is undeniable,” said Tomorrow Studios founder and CEO Marty Adelstein and partner and president Becky Clements. “We are thrilled to be working with them and Nellie to further expand their footprint in scripted TV with the kind of culturally relevant, character-driven storytelling for which they are already known.”
Garbus and Cogan originally founded Story Syndicate in 2019. To date, the company has focused on the documentary space. Their recent projects include docuseries like “Harry & Meghan” at Netflix, “Last Call” at HBO, and “Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence” at Hulu. PvNew recently broke the news that Garbus will direct a Netflix docuseries about the serial killings of Gilgo Beach on Long Island, for which a suspect was recently arrested.
“Marty and Becky at Tomorrow Studios are brilliant, creative and share our vision for the next steps for Story Syndicate,” said Cogan and Garbus, “Our scripted division is focused on elevated, commercial shows that are often grounded in true stories and speak directly to the cultural zeitgeist.”
Garbus is no stranger to the scripted space. She previously directed the feature “Lost Girls” for Netflix, which revolved around the Gilgo Beach murders and premiered at Sundance in 2020 — it launched in the Netflix Top 10. She also helmed the Season 4 finale of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which earned her an Emmy nomination for best director. She has also directed episodes of shows like “Yellowjackets” and “City on Fire.” She is also set to direct and executive produce Ellen Pompeo’s untitled “Orphan” limited series at Hulu, written by Katie Robbins.
While at Color Force, Reed she oversaw the company’s television slate under their exclusive deal with FX. She developed and produced two seasons of “American Crime Story” in that time as well as the “Y: The Last Man” series adaptation, the miniseries “Class of ’09,” and several upcoming shows.
Prior to Color Force, Reed ran television for Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin’s Free Association through their first look deal with MRC. She began her career at David S. Goyer’s Phantom Four Films where she oversaw both TV and film.
“Nellie has extraordinary experience in scripted television and deep relationships with writers and platform executives,” Cogan and Garbus said. “She also shares our ambition for Story Syndicate’s shows to be as curated, buzzy and premium in the scripted world as they are in docs. She’s our ideal partner and we feel incredibly lucky to build this new division with her firmly at the helm.”
Story Syndicate is repped by UTA and Victoria Cook at Frankfurt, Kurnit.
