Jamie Tarses, the first woman to serve as head of a network entertainment division, dies at 56

The Hollywood Reporter

Tarses, who died today after suffering complications from a cardiac event last fall, was a comedy executive at NBC who helped develop Friends, Mad About You, NewsRadio, Frasier and Caroline in the City. In 1996 at the age of 32, Tarses was hired as ABC Entertainment president, becoming the first female to program the entertainment division of a broadcast network. But Tarses struggled, overseeing only two successful shows: Dharma & Greg and Sports Night. She was also the subject of an unflattering 1997 New York Times Magazine profile, titled "Jamie Tarses' Fall, as Scheduled." Writer Lynn Hirschberg described her as a nervous smoker, adding: "The constant hum of criticism has clearly got to Tarses. She seems to trust no one and is tense nearly all the time. She worries about who's saying what." In recent years, Tarses served as executive producer on Amazon's The Wilds, YouTube's Champaign, ILL and ABC's The Mayor. Tarses is survived by her father, Jay Tarses, an Emmy-winning writer on The Carol Burnett Show who created innovative TV shows like Buffalo Bill and The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd. She is also survived by her brother Matt Tarses, a producer on Sports Night, Scrubs and The Goldbergs. ALSO: Ryan Reynolds, Kristen Johnston, Adam Pally, Busy Philipps and more pay tribute to Tarses.