Fox Entertainment Studios has sealed a first-look development and producing deal with Cottage Industry Entertainment, the shingle launched by executives Lisa Hamilton Daly and Alysia Cotter Thomas. Among the slate of scripted television series and feature films in the works is “The Whittiers,” based on the Danielle Steel novel, which Fox has optioned to adapt for TV.
Besides “The Whittiers,” other TV projects Fox Entertainment Studios is developing with Cottage Industry include a one-hour family drama from writer Jordanna Fraiberg (“The Dead Girls Detective Agency”); an adaptation of the Lindsay MacMillan novel “Summer on Lilac Island,” with Delondra Mesa (“Z Nation”) attached to write; and the comedy “Mom’s Place,” from Angela Kinsey (“The Office”) and Audrey Wauchope (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”).
In film, Cottage Industry is working with Fox Entertainment Studios on the hockey-themed romantic comedy “It All Comes Down to This,” from screenwriters Sam Sklaver and Elizabeth Peterson; “The View from Lake Como,” based on the novel by Adriana Trigiani, who is also adapting it; and an adaptation of author Cynthia Hand’s “The Afterlife of Holly Chase” by Ali Laventhol and Tawnya Bhattacharya.
Hamilton Daly and Cotter Thomas founded Cottage Industry Entertainment to focus on “emotionally engaging, female-driven storytelling spanning romantic comedies, family dramas, mysteries, thrillers and other broadly appealing genres.”
“Lisa and Alysia bring a terrific combination of creative instincts, industry experience and a real understanding of what connects with audiences,” said Fox Entertainment Studios head of scripted Hannah Pillemer in a statement. “Lisa has helped build some of television’s most successful and enduring female-driven series, while Alysia has spent her career developing films and championing filmmakers, storytellers and other outstanding creative voices. Together, they’ve created a company with a clear point of view, a strong commercial sensibility and a growing slate of projects that we’re pleased to welcome to Fox.”
Hamilton Daly was previously executive vice president of programming at Hallmark Media, overseeing fare such as “The Way Home,” “When Calls the Heart,” “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story,” “Mistletoe Murders” and “Ripple.” She was also director of original series at Netflix and also spent time at Lifetime and A+E Films. Cotter Thomas was most recently a literary agent at Paradigm, packaging projects including Ross Evan’s spec script “How to Save a Marriage” to Sony Pictures. Earlier, she held a stint at Warner Bros., including as part of the team that developed the “Batman” franchise with Christopher Nolan. She was also a VP at Legendary Entertainment and later served as VP of creative affairs at Working Title in London.
“Fox Entertainment Studios has been a tremendous partner in helping us build Cottage Industry and bring our creative vision to life,” Hamilton Daly and Cotter Thomas said in a joint statement. “We share a belief in stories that entertain, move people and keep audiences coming back, whether that’s a compelling family drama, a smart romantic comedy or a suspenseful thriller. Hannah and her team understand both the creative and business sides of what we’re building, and we’re looking forward to continuing to develop projects together across television and film.”
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