Jamie Tarses, who helped bring “Friends” to NBC and broke the glass ceiling in network TV when she became the top entertainment executive at ABC, died Monday after suffering complications from a cardiac event last fall. She was 56. Tarses’ death was confirmed by her family. She was among the
Jamie Tarses, first female TV network entertainment head, dies at 56
Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times
Feb. 1, 2021
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BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JUNE 13: Jamie Tarses attends the Women In Film 2018 Crystal + Lucy Awards presented by Max Mara, Lancôme and Lexus at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on June 13, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Women In Film)Emma McIntyre / Getty
Jamie Tarses, who helped bring Friends to NBC and broke the glass ceiling in network TV when she became the top entertainment executive at ABC, died Monday after suffering complications from a cardiac event last fall. She was 56.
Jamie Tarses
She served as president of ABC Entertainment from 1996-99 after helping develop hits like Friends, Mad About You and Frasier at NBC.
Jamie Tarses, the producer and groundbreaking TV executive who as president of ABC Entertainment from 1996-99 became the first woman to serve as head a network entertainment division, died Monday. She was 56.
Tarses died in Los Angeles of complications from a cardiac event suffered last fall, according to her family.
Survivors include her father, Jay Tarses, an Emmy winner who created such innovative TV shows as
Buffalo Bill and
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, and her brother, Matt Tarses, who has produced series including
Twenty-five years before Peak TV, there was “Must See TV.”
During Tarses’ tenure at ABC, the network’s successes included hit sitcom “Dharma & Greg,” writer-producer Aaron Sorkin’s “Sports Night,” “The Practice” from David E. Kelley and “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place,” which introduced actor Ryan Reynolds.
Tarses left ABC in 1999 and went on to become an independent TV producer for a number of networks, turning out such shows as “Happy Endings,” “Franklin & Bash” and “My Boys.” She had a project in production for Disney+ called “The Mysterious Benedict Society.” She also produced “The Wilds” for Amazon Prime.
After leaving ABC, Tarses worked on several other series over the years, including
Happy Endings and most recently Amazon s
The Wilds. A Disney+ series,
The Mysterious Benedict Society, which Tarses worked on as an executive producer is expected to premiere later this year.
Tarses is survived by her partner Paddy Aubrey and their two children, Wyatt and Sloane, as well as her parents, Rachel and Jay, siblings Mallory and Matt, sister-in-law Katie Tarses, three nieces, and a nephew, per
Tarses brother, Matt Tarses, reflected on his sister s life in a statement released on Monday to The Wrap. For all her talent and success in entertainment, the thing Jamie was proudest of and most consumed by were her two kids, he said. She was never happier than when she was with Wyatt and Sloane.