The second incarnation of Touchstone Television (formerly known as Fox 21 Television Studios) was an American television production company that is a subsidiary of

Disney Media Networks Disney Media Networks was a business segment of The Walt Disney Company that oversaw the company's television networks, cable channels, television production and distribution studios, and owned-and-operated television stations. The segment' ...

' Walt Disney Television owned by

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on Octobe ...

. It was founded in 2014 from the merger of Fox Television Studios and Fox 21, and given its second name in mid-2020 following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney. On December 1, 2020, Disney announced that the label was folded into

20th Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...

Predecessors

Fox Television Studios

Fox Television Studios, Inc. was a television production subsidiary of

21st Century Fox Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., doing business as 21st Century Fox (21CF), was an American multinational mass media corporation that was based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was one of the two companies formed on June 28, 2013, fo ...

's Fox Entertainment Group, as well as being the unofficial production arm of Fox and the secondary production arm of

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Co ...

, itself a division of

20th Century Fox Film Corporation 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

. Fox Television Studios (FTVS) was formed in 1997 alongside

and

under executive David Grant. The studio was created to house smaller production units, starting with the Greenblatt-Janollari Studio (G-JS). Greenblatt-Janollari started producing shows in the 1998–1999 season with 3 comedy series for ABC and CBS. While funded by Fox, G-JS was presented as an "independent mini-studio". The studio also partnered with

David Gerber David Gerber (July 25, 1923 – January 2, 2010) was a television executive producer. His notable work on television included the 1970s TV series '' Police Story'' and '' Police Woman''. Other executive producer credits include '' Jessie'', '' The ...

and his Gerber Company venture to produce various telemovies and television series. With Fox Entertainment Group holding a 20% stake in New Regency Production's parent corporation, Fox Studios formed a joint venture, Regency Television, by 2000, managed by Gail Berman. Another production unit formed was Fox Television Studios Productions (FTSP) under Lisa Berger. Early output by the individual units, or "pods" were FTSP's '' Son of the Beach'' for FX, '' The Hughleys'' by G-JS and Regency had ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunction ...

''. The pod model evolved into five divisions: alternative, scripted, international, Fox World and Regency Television: *The alternative division was responsible for '' Talkshow with Spike Feresten'' and '' The Wanda Sykes Show'', along with E!'s ''

The Girls Next Door ''The Girls Next Door'' (also known as ''The Girls of the Playboy Mansion'') is a reality television series which focuses on the lives of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends who live with him at the Playboy Mansion. The series was created by executive pr ...

'' franchise. In mid-2002, Fox Alternative Productions was formed by Fox TV Studios and headed by David Martin with its first show to be "The Coach". *The scripted division produced '' The Shield'', along with a number of television films and miniseries. *Fox World division, formed in 2001, produced international versions of its reality television programs such as ''

Joe Millionaire ''Joe Millionaire'' is an American reality dating show that premiered on Fox in 2003. The first two seasons of the series followed a group of single women, competing for the affection of a bachelor who was falsely billed as being a millionai ...

'' and '' Temptation Island''. The company was shut down by FTVS in 2005. Eventually the only division operating was the scripted unit. Next FTVS attempted international co-productions of direct-to-series broadcast series. The company had a hit with ''

Burn Notice ''Burn Notice'' is an American espionage television series created by Matt Nix, which originally aired on the USA Network for a total of seven seasons from June 28, 2007, to September 12, 2013. The show stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar ...

'' on USA Network. In August 2010, Dave Madden was appointed to head the unit, where he evenly increased its production slates until he was appointed as president of entertainment for Fox Broadcasting in August 2014.

Fox Television Studios International

:''This is about the company that exists according to the

News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...

page'' Fox Television Studios International was the international division of

Fox Television Studios The second incarnation of Touchstone Television (formerly known as Fox 21 Television Studios) was an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Disney Media Networks' Walt Disney Television owned by The Walt Disney Company. I ...

operated in 2000–2001. Daniella Welteke was tapped up to head the division, which was eventually becoming Fox World. The pod model evolved into five divisions: alternative, scripted, international, Fox World and Regency Television: *The alternative division was responsible for '' Talkshow with Spike Feresten'' and '' The Wanda Sykes Show'', along with E!'s ''

Fox World

Fox World (formerly Fox Television Studios International) was a television production company formed in 2000 as a division of

(FTVS). The company produced international versions of its reality television programs such as ''

'' and '' Temptation Island''. On March 5, 2001, SBS inked a deal/joint venture with Fox World to launch a northern European-based production company. The company was shut down by FTVS in 2005. Daniella Welteke would remain as head of the division. On November 22, 2004, Hayley Babcock was named senior vice president of production at the Fox World studio.

Fox Lab

Fox Lab was a low-profile production sub-division of

, originally formed in 1986 as Fox Television Stations Productions (or STF Productions) and was responsible for the development of '' A Current Affair'', '' Cops'' and ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...

''. It was rebranded to the current moniker in 1995, although the FTSP label was continued to be used on several older shows until Fox's cancellation of '' Cops'' in 2013. In 1990, Fox Television Stations debuted a soap opera, ''

Tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

'', only shown on Fox owned-and-operated stations. It only lasted one season on the air. By the early 90s, the company was producing a show, ''Not Just News'', for first-run syndication. Also, in 1994, Fox Television Stations Productions produced an international version of ''

'', ''Manhunter'', to be shown throughout international networks. It was later evolved into a US version for syndication, '' America's Most Wanted: Final Justice''. In 2003, Fox Lab was producing the syndicated show '' Classmates'', that lasted only two seasons. Fox Lab's library is currently co-owned by

and Fox Corporation.

Foxstar Productions

Foxstar Productions was a division of Fox Television Studios.

The original incarnation of Touchstone Television

The original iteration of Touchstone Television was a television production company founded in 1985 as a division of Disney's subsidiary

Touchstone Pictures Touchstone Pictures, Inc. was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featu ...

. It is nowadays known as ''ABC Signature'' (since 2020), and was known as ''ABC Studios'' since 2007.

Fox 21

Fox 21 (styled fox21.) was a low-cost scripted and reality cable television production arm of

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

, which was a division of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

. The company produces, the FX series ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ...

'', '' Terriers'' and ''

Tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to ...

'', the A&E action series ''

Breakout Kings ''Breakout Kings'' is an American drama television series that aired on the A&E network. It is a production of Fox 21. The series was created, written, and executive-produced by Nick Santora and Matt Olmstead, who previously worked together o ...

'',

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

reality series ''

Beauty and the Geek ''Beauty and the Geek'' is an American reality television series that premiered on The WB on June 1, 2005. It has been advertised as "The Ultimate Social Experiment" and is produced by Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg and J.D. Roth. The show's ti ...

'', the Showtime series '' Homeland'', the Comedy Central series '' Brickleberry'', the WGN America series '' Salem'' and the '' Lifetime'' series ''

Witches of East End ''Witches of East End'' is a 2011 novel by author Melissa de la Cruz and the first entry in her ''Beauchamp Family'' series. It was published on June 21, 2011, by Hyperion Books and follows a family of Long Island witches struggling against dar ...

''. On December 4, 2014, Fox Television Studios merged with Fox 21 to form Fox 21 Television Studios. Fox 21 was formed in 2004 by

executives Dana Walden and Gary Newman to develop and back smaller-budgeted but unique and daring shows. Fox 21's first executive was Jane Leisner. The unit's early hits were the FX series ''

'' and

reality series ''

''. After originally being passed over for programming the new network,

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...

, Fox 21 was in consideration along with Twentieth Television and independent producers as of December 2006 in a potential reprogramming from telenovela to low-cost reality and game shows. Bert Salke, who moved from his Brancato/Salke production company based at ABC Studios, took charge of the unit in 2010 and led an increase in show productions starting with the Showtime series '' Homeland''. In early 2015, Mythology Entertainment signed a first look deal with the company and its sister studio

while announcing the head of its TV division. The company produces or had produced the FX series '' Terriers'', ''

'', ''

'', '' Mayans MC'', ''

The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American period spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg that aired on the FX television network for six seasons from January 30, 2013, to May 30, 2018. Weisberg and Joel Fields also serve as showrunners a ...

'' and '' The Bastard Executioner'', the A&E action series ''

'', the Showtime series '' The Chi'', the

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...

series '' Chance'', the Comedy Central series '' Brickleberry'', the WGN America series '' Salem'' and the Lifetime series ''

''.

History

It was announced in December 2014 that Fox 21 and Fox Television Studios would merge into Fox 21 Television Studios. This situation came as a result of FTVS' president David Madden being promoted to

Fox Broadcasting Company The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...

and the fact that both units were focusing on the same market, cable TV. The combined operation is headed by Fox 21 president Bert Salke. In January 2020, Fox 21 reached a first-look deal with

Marta Kauffman Marta Fran Kauffman (born September 21, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. She is best known as the co-creator of the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' with her longtime friend, David Crane. Both Kauffman and Crane were also executive pr ...

's studio Okay Goodnight, beginning with an adaptation of the 2019 novel '' The Dreamers''. In early-February 2020, it reached a first-look deal with the

Gotham Group Gotham Group is an American diversified management and production company in the entertainment industry. Goldsmith-Vein and her company have produced such projects as ''The Spiderwick Chronicles'' and ''The Maze Runner'' franchise. The company wa ...

. On August 10, 2020, as part of a reorganization of Walt Disney Television following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, the studio was renamed Touchstone Television — reviving a brand dormant since the previous Touchstone Television was renamed ABC Studios in 2007. ABC Studios had also merged with the previous iteration of ABC Signature Studios to form the current iteration of ABC Signature. The renamed Touchstone Television studio retains a

typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectivel ...

-styled logo similar to the previous Fox 21 and Fox 21 Television Studios brandings. Less than four months following this change, on December 1, 2020, Walt Disney Television head Dana Walden announced a further reorganization which will see the newly renamed division wound up, with Salke transitioning to an overall producing deal with Disney Television Studios, and remaining operations absorbed into

Programming produced

References

External links

Fox Television Studios
on 21cf.com {{Authority control Disney Television Studios American companies established in 2014 American companies disestablished in 2020 Mass media companies established in 2014 Mass media companies disestablished in 2020 2014 establishments in California 2020 disestablishments in California Television production companies of the United States Mass media companies of the United States Companies based in Los Angeles Walt Disney Studios (division) The Walt Disney Company subsidiaries Disney production studios Disney acquisitions Peabody Award winners 20th Television Former News Corporation subsidiaries