Press release from Turner Broadcasting, July 21, 2015:

Turner Broadcasting’s TNT and TBS have set their creative development and production teams, with Joey Chavez joining the company to serve as senior vice president of original programming for TNT and Thom Hinkle promoted to senior vice president of original programming for TBS. In addition, Robin Pelleck has been elevated to vice president of digital content for TNT & TBS original programming, and Meredith Zamsky has been hired as vice president of production for TNT.

This marks the latest executive moves under Kevin Reilly, the new president of TBS and TNT and chief creative officer of Turner Entertainment. In February, Reilly announced that he was splitting TBS and TNT’s original programming team into two separate units. As part of that change, he recruited accomplished television and film producer Sarah Aubrey to serve as executive vice president of original programming for TNT and promoted Turner Broadcasting’s Brett Weitz to executive vice president of original programming for TBS. In addition, Sandra Dewey was named president, TNT and TBS Productions and business affairs, with responsibility for overseeing the business affairs for the two networks and running their expanded in-house production arm.

Joey Chavez, Senior Vice President of Original Programmimng, TNT

Joey Chavez Joey Chavez has joined TNT as senior vice president of original programming. In this role, Chavez is responsible for the development of new TNT original series, working with writers, producers and directors on new concepts, scripts and pilots. He also supervises the continued development of greenlit shows as they are being prepared for launch. Chavez is based in Los Angeles and reports to Sarah Aubrey, executive vice president of original programming for TNT and works alongside Sam Linsky, senior vice president of original programming.

“Joey has an impressive track record of developing high-quality, buzz-worthy dramas,” said Aubrey. “We look forward to him bringing those fresh voices and ideas to TNT’s development slate.”

Chavez comes to TNT after serving as vice president of drama development for NBC. During his time at NBC, which began in 2008, Chavez was the primary development executive on The Blacklist, NBC’s #1 drama of 2013. He also worked on such series as Parenthood, Revolution, Heroes, the Law & Order franchises and the upcoming drama Shades of Blue, starring Jennifer Lopez. Chavez also worked on Southland, the Peabody Award-winning series that moved from NBC to TNT in its second season. As a result of his success at NBC, he was named to Hollywood Reporter’s “Next Gen List: 35 under 35” in 2012.

Chavez began his executive career in 2005 working on current programming at The WB. He followed that with positions at David Janollari Productions and as a schedule and strategy executive at The Style Network/E! Networks and TLC/Discovery Networks.

Chavez graduated Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in cinema-television from the University of Southern California. He also did varied coursework at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He is actively involved in several charities and organizations, including Lambda Legal and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Thom Hinkle, Senior Vice President of Original Programming, TBS

Thom Hinkle Thom Hinkle has been promoted to senior vice president of original programming for TBS. Hinkle is responsible for original scripted comedy on the network and serves as the primary liaison between TBS and the studios that produce its scripted originals. He is based in Los Angeles and reports to Brett Weitz, executive vice president of original programming for TBS.

Hinkle joined TBS in October 2013. Since then, he has worked on several new and upcoming series for the network, including Angie Tribeca, starring Rashida Jones and created by Steve and Nancy Carell. He has also developed TBS’s new pilot Wrecked, a single-camera comedy from up-and-coming writers Justin Shipley & Jordan Shipley and executive producer Jesse Hara.

Most recently, Hinkle helped TBS make headlines with his work in bringing Daily Show stars Jason Jones and Samantha Bee to the network. Jones will star in a new scripted comedy the pair are writing together, and Bee is in development on an issues-based series in which she will star.

“Thom has been an incredible partner since he started at TBS,” said Weitz. “His taste for great material and eye for talent will be the key driver as we push the network into the future. I only wish he wasn’t so mean to me.”

Before coming to TBS, Hinkle served as co-president of Carousel Television, the TV production arm for Steve Carell’s Carousel Productions. While at Carousel Television, he sold a large number of scripted comedy concepts to broadcast and cable outlets and helped secure development deals with NBC, 20th Century Fox and Universal Cable Productions. Among the projects Hinkle put into development for Carousel are TBS’s upcoming Angie Tribeca and the recent pilot Wrecked, along with the movie Bone Wars for HBO.

Hinkle joined Carousel after serving as vice president of NorthSouth Productions, where he started their Los Angeles office, created the Mojo seriesGetting Abroad and co-executive produced and directed Mojo’s I Bet You. Prior to that, he served as producer on the pilots Off the Road with Andrew Daily for TBS and as co-executive producer and director of TLC’s In a Fix.

Hinkle began his career at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, where he was hired as a researcher before being promoted to associate producer and field producer. While at The Daily Show, he earned the honor of being its very first Employee of the Month.

Hinkle holds a bachelor’s degree in TV/film from Seton Hall University in New Jersey. He was a semi-finalist at the Nintendo National Championships in 1990.

Robin Pelleck, Vice President of Digital Content, TNT & TBS Original Programming

Robin Pelleck ​Robin Pelleck has been named vice president of digital content for TNT & TBS original programming. In this role, she will be working directly with our current series productions to develop custom content and digital extensions, and serve as the primary contact between both networks’ series productions and TNT & TBS’s advertising sales, marketing and social media teams to create digital content for linear series. She is based in LA and reports to Sam Linsky, senior vice president of original programming.

“Robin brings a great deal of passion, creativity and experience to her job,” said Linsky. “As TBS and TNT continue to expand our multiplatform offerings, Robin is the ideal person to lead the execution of these valuable digital assets.”

Pelleck’s career as a director, writer and television producer began as an intern at CNN. Live news led to a career in live sports for Moxie Video Productions, CBS Sports and ABC Sports covering major sporting events like the NBA and NFL. Pelleck, who had a long relationship with Turner producing and writing for Court TV (now truTV) and working on the PGA Championship and NFL on TNT for Turner Sports, re-joined the Turner team as director of original custom content for TNT & TBS. In her new role, she worked on creative digital content for scripted dramas and comedies, as well as unscripted series for both networks.

Pelleck’s award-winning and diverse background includes sports documentaries, commercials, television series and studio and remote production, as well as marketing for film and television. She produced the first interactive app and live webcast covering New Year’s Eve in New York’s Times Square. She was the founder of Order24 Productions, a creative and production services company that focused on multi-platform production, along with integrating and extending traditional television, creative and remote production with digital and new media. Partners and clients included Viacom, CBS Sports, ABC Sports/ESPN, NBC, Sundance Channel, truTV, Turner Studios, Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, AOL, Cafe Mom’s Premium YouTube Channel, OWN, JWT, Publicis, Edelman Digital, BBDO and Ogilvy.

In 2013, Pelleck began to share her experiences with producing, directing and screenwriting candidates at UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film and Television. As an adjunct professor in the producers program, she leads graduate-level classes in television and digital content, with a focus on both the creative development and production of original digital series.

Pelleck is a member of the Directors Guild of America and Producers Guild of America. A native New Yorker, she is a graduate of The City University of New York at Queens College.

Meredith Zamsky, Vice President of Production, TNT

Meredith Zamsky Meredith Zamsky has joined Turner Broadcasting as vice president of production for TNT. In this role, she is responsible for supervising, coordinating and monitoring production-related activities, from pre-production through wrap on upcoming TNT original programs. This includes staffing and negotiating deals for key crew, production scheduling, budgeting, negotiating vendor contracts and partnering with our producers to create first-class television. Zamsky is based in Los Angeles and reports to Mark Weissman, senior vice president of production.

“It’s rare to find someone with the wealth of production experience Meredith brings to her new role at TNT and TBS,” said Weissman. “She is an incredibly organized and energetic producer and an extremely valuable addition to our team.”

Zamsky has amassed an extensive list of production credits in both television and film. She served as a producer on the hit drama Castle and the award-winning comedy The Office after having previously served as a production manager on both series. She also produced the TV movies Mind Games and Life of the Party: The Pamela Harriman Story, as well as six ABC Afterschool Specials. She won a CableACE for the “Blood Brothers: The Joey DiPaolo Story,” an episode of HBO’s Lifestories: Families in Crisis series. And she shared a Daytime Emmy® nomination as an executive producer of the CBS Schoolbreak Special “Abby, My Love,” one of many award-winning specials she produced for the franchise.

For the big screen, Zamsky’s credits include serving as executive producer on such films as Country Strong and The Stepfather, associate producer on the movie Shopgirl and The Next Best Thing and co-producer on The Real Blonde, Box of Moonlight, Double Whammy and Living in Oblivion, to name a few. She also served as production manager on many of those films.