Sara James Tarses (March 16, 1964 – February 1, 2021) was an American television producer and television studio executive. She was the president ofABC Entertainment from 1996 to 1999, the first woman and one of the youngest people to hold such a post in an American broadcast network.^[1]

Tarses was born inPittsburgh,Pennsylvania, the daughter of television writerJay Tarses and Rachel Tarses (née Newdell), on March 16, 1964.^[2][3] Her younger sister, Mallory Tarses, is a fiction writer and high school English teacher,^[4] and a younger brother, Matt Tarses, is a producer and screenwriter (The Goldbergs,Scrubs,Sports Night).^[5]

Tarses graduated fromWilliams College in 1985^[6] with a degree in theater.^[7]

After graduating from college, Tarses became an assistant to the talent executive on the 1985–1986 season ofSaturday Night Live. She then worked as a casting director forLorimar Productions, filling roles for mid-runPerfect Strangers.^[8]

In September 1987, Tarses was hired byNBC Productions'Brandon Tartikoff as the manager of creative affairs. She climbed thecorporate ladder atNBC until 1996. Here, she helped developFriends,Mad About You,Frasier,NewsRadio, andCaroline in the City.^[2][7][9] In 1991, she passed on her father's pilot about jazz musicians, calledBaltimore.^[7]

Tarses left NBC in 1996 amidst a significant amount of press coverage.^[10][11] From 1996 to 1999, she was president ofABC Entertainment.^[12][13][14] She resigned in August 1999 with two years remaining on her contract.^[2] At the time of her departure she had one sitcom, one comedy, and one legal drama on ABC's schedule.^[15]

Tarses was the subject of what Bill Carter ofThe New York Times called an "unflattering profile" written by Lynn Hirschberg inThe New York Times Magazine in July 1997, in which she "was portrayed as an embattled executive whose competence and professionalism was being questioned in Hollywood show business circles".^[13][16][17]

Amanda Peet, who played Jordan McDeere, the head of fictional network NBS on the NBC showStudio 60 on the Sunset Strip, said her character "is loosely based" on Tarses.^[18][19] Tarses was a consultant forStudio 60.

While at ABC, she helped develop and greenlightDharma & Greg.^[15]

In 2005, Tarses partnered on a production company called Pariah Productions with producerGavin Polone.^[20] Later, she had a company called FanFare Productions atSony Pictures Television.^[21]

Tarses was co-producer ofMy Boys, a comedy about a female sports reporter starringJordana Spiro, onTBS cable television network from November 28, 2006, until September 14, 2010.^[22] In 2010, she produced several television series, includingMr. Sunshine,Happy Endings, andFranklin & Bash.^[23][24][25]

Tarses marriedDreamWorks SKG television executive Dan McDermott in 1993. They divorced in 1996.^[26] Tarses also datedRobert Morton, executive producer ofLate Show with David Letterman, andMatthew Perry.^[7][27][28] She had two children, Wyatt and Sloane, with her partner Paddy Aubrey, an executive chef and restaurant owner.^[2]

She served on the board of directors and the advisory board of directors forYoung Storytellers, an arts education nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles.^[2][29] She was a volunteer atCedars-Sinai Medical Center.^[2]

Tarses had astroke in the fall of 2020, spent time in a coma, and then died in Los Angeles on February 1, 2021, at age 56 from what a family spokesperson called "complications of a cardiac event".^[25][30]

• 1985–1986:Saturday Night Live – Production staff (18 episodes)^[30]
• 1987–1988:Perfect Strangers – Casting director (12 episodes)^[31]
• 2006–2007:Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip – Consultant (13 episodes)^[32]
• 2006–2010:My Boys – Executive producer (37 episodes)^[30]
• 2009–2011:Hawthorne – Executive producer (24 episodes)^[25]
• 2011:Mad Love – Executive producer (13 episodes)^[25]
• 2011:Mr. Sunshine – Executive producer (6 episodes)^[25]
• 2011–2013:Happy Endings – Executive producer (57 episodes)^[30]
• 2011–2014:Franklin & Bash – Executive producer (30 episodes)^[25]
• 2012:Made in Jersey – Executive producer (6 episodes)^[25]
• 2012–2014:Men at Work – Executive producer (31 episodes)^[25]
• 2013:Bastards – Executive producer^[33]
• 2014:Really – Executive producer (1 episode)^[34]
• 2014–2015:Marry Me – Executive producer (17 episodes)^[25]
• 2014:Cuz-Bros – Executive producer^[35]
• 2015:Your Family or Mine – Executive producer^[36]
• 2017:The Mayor – Executive producer^[25]
• 2020–2021:The Wilds – Executive producer

• 2001:Tikiville – Executive producer^[37]
• 2003:Crazy Love – Executive producer^[38]
• 2004:Nevermind Nirvana – Executive producer^[39]
• 2006:The Angriest Man in Suburbia – Executive producer^[40]
• 2006:More, Patience – Executive producer^[40]
• 2007:Primeval – Executive producer^[41]
• 2007:Backyards & Bullets – Executive producer^[42]
• 2008:Held Up – Executive producer^[43]
• 2009:Eva Adams – Executive producer^[44]
• 2010:Held Up – Executive producer^[43]
• 2012:Happy Valley – Executive producer^[45]
• 2014:Duty – Executive producer^[46]

Specific

Bibliography

• Jamie Tarses atIMDb 

• 1964 births
• 2021 deaths
• 20th-century American businesspeople
• 20th-century American businesswomen
• 21st-century American businesswomen
• 21st-century American businesspeople
• American Broadcasting Company executives
• American television producers
• American women television producers
• Businesspeople from Pittsburgh
• NBC executives
• Presidents of American Broadcasting Company Entertainment
• Williams College alumni
• American women television executives
• American women casting directors

• CS1 errors: periodical ignored
• Use mdy dates from February 2021
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Pages using infobox person with multiple parents
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