Steve Stark is a television producer and studio executive. He currently is the Chairman & Executive Producer for Toluca Pictures.

Early life

Steve grew up in Fort Dodge, Iowa and attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Television & Film and moved the next day to Los Angeles.

Career

Over his career, Steve Stark has served in senior development & current positions at three major studios (

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

, Columbia TriStar &

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

) as well as an Executive Producer of many series for

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a division of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#Universal Studio Group, Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is ...

Paramount Television The first incarnation of Paramount Television was operated as the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, until it changed its name to CBS Paramount Television on January 17, 2006. History Desilu Pro ...

and

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television, Inc. (formerly known as TCF Television Productions, Inc., 20th Century-Fox Television and 20th Century Fox Television) is the television studio arm of 20th Century Studios, owned by Disney Television Studios, a division of the Di ...

. During his career, Stark has been responsible for developing, overseeing and/or producing over 3300 episodes of television. More recently, he quit MGM/UA. Under a first look deal with MGM/UA, he has launched Toluca Pictures where he is producing several shows including ''

The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which has ...

'' (Hulu), '' Fargo'' (FX), '' Vikings: Valhalla'' (Netflix) '' The Consultant''(Amazon) and ''

Wednesday Wednesday is the day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. In English, the name is derived from Old English and Middle English , 'day of Woden', reflecting ...

'' (Netflix). As President of MGM/UA Television, he was responsible for all scripted content, from concept to production; partnerships with multi-platform broadcasters including network, cable and digital outlets; and development of new productions, including reinvigorating the MGM film library. MGM/UA Television has numerous scripted series on-air or in production including ''

Get Shorty ''Get Shorty'' is a 1990 novel by American novelist Elmore Leonard. In 1995, the novel was adapted into an eponymous film, and in 2017 it was adapted into a television series of the same name. Plot summary The story is about Ernesto "Chili ...

'' (

EPIX MGM+ (formerly known as Epix; pronounced ''epics'' and stylized as eᴘix), is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the MGMPlus Entertainment subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), which is itself a subsidiary ...

), ''

Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua language, Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. One species, the And ...

'' ( AT&T Audience Network), ''

Perpetual Grace, LTD ''Perpetual Grace, LTD'' is an American neo-noir thriller television series that premiered on Epix on June 2, 2019. The series is produced by MGM Television and FX Productions, with co-creators Steven Conrad and Bruce Terris writing each episod ...

'' (EPIX), and ''

Four Weddings and a Funeral ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to star Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle of ...

'' (Hulu). From November 2011 to March 2021, Stark oversaw the development of new content for MGM Television, creating scripted television. Stark joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from his own production company, Steve Stark Productions, where he led the company to an overall deal with NBC/Universal Television. At the helm of Steve Stark Productions, he served as Executive Producer on

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

’s series ''

Fairly Legal ''Fairly Legal'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series which aired on USA Network from January 20, 2011, to June 15, 2012. The series starred Sarah Shahi, Michael Trucco, Virginia Williams, Baron Vaughn, and Ryan Johnson. USA Ne ...

'', in partnership with

Universal Cable Productions Universal Content Productions LLC (UCP) is an American television production company operating within the Universal Studio Group division of NBCUniversal, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. History Universal Cable Productions In July ...

, and the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

series ''

The Event ''The Event'' (stylized as THE EVƎNT) is an American television series containing elements of science fiction, Action fiction, action/adventure and political allegory. It was created by Nick Wauters and aired on NBC from September 20, 2010, to ...

'', in partnership with

. His credits also include Executive Producer on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

’ long-running series ''

Medium Medium may refer to: Aircraft *Medium bomber, a class of warplane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Medium'' (1921 film), a German silent film * ''The Medium'' (1951 film), a film vers ...

'', starring

Patricia Arquette Patricia Arquette (; born April 8, 1968) is an American actress. She made her feature film debut as Kristen Parker in ''A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' (1987) and has since received several awards, including an Academy Award, two P ...

. Prior to forming his own company, Stark developed ''Medium'' while serving as President of Grammnet Productions where he also executive produced three seasons of

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

’s '' The Game'' and the U.S. adaptation of ''

The Sketch Show ''The Sketch Show'' is a British television sketch comedy programme, featuring British comedians. It aired on ITV between 2001 and 2004. The show was first commissioned in 2001 and was co-produced by a company owned by Steve Coogan. Despite t ...

'' for FBC. Stark had previously held the position of executive vice president of development at Columbia Tri-Star Network Television, overseeing the development of drama, comedy and alternative programming where he developed ''

Hack Hack may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Hack (Unix video game), ''Hack'' (Unix video game), a 1984 roguelike video game * .hack (video game series), ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia fran ...

'' for CBS and ''

Everwood ''Everwood'' is an American drama television series created by Greg Berlanti. Berlanti, Mickey Liddell, Rina Mimoun, Andrew A. Ackerman and Michael Green served as executive producers. The series aired on the WB from September 16, 2002, to Jun ...

'' for The WB. He had also served as Senior Vice President, Current Programming at

Paramount Network Television The first incarnation of Paramount Television was operated as the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, until it changed its name to CBS Paramount Television on January 17, 2006. History Desilu Pro ...

, where he shepherded multiple episodes of series beginning with the last season of ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...

'' that was followed by ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...

'', '' JAG'', ''

Becker Becker () is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family). In northern Germany, it can also derive from th ...

'', ''

Nash Bridges ''Nash Bridges'' is an American police procedural television series created by Carlton Cuse. The show stars Don Johnson and Cheech Marin as two Inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department's Special Investigations Unit (SIU). The seri ...

'', '' Girlfriends'', ''

Duckman ''Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man'', commonly known simply as ''Duckman'', is an American adult animated sitcom created and developed by Everett Peck, based on the characters he created in his 1990 one-shot comic book published by Dark Horse Com ...

'', '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''; '' Star Trek: Voyager'', ''

Soul Food Soul food is the ethnic cuisine of African Americans. Originating in the Southern United States, American South from the cuisines of Slavery in the United States, enslaved Africans transported from Africa through the Atlantic slave trade, sou ...

'', ''

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

'', ''

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...

'', '' Seven Days'', ''

Clueless ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone, and was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert Lawrence. The film is a loose adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 no ...

'', ''

The Untouchables Untouchable or Untouchables may refer to: People * Untouchability, the practice of socially ostracizing a minority group of very low social status * Untouchables, word for the Dalits or Scheduled Castes of India * Untouchables (law enforcement), ...

'', ''

Now and Again ''Now and Again'' is an American science fiction comedy-drama television series created by Glenn Gordon Caron that aired on CBS from September 24, 1999, until May 5, 2000. The story revolves around the United States government engineering th ...

'' and '' Sister, Sister'', among many others. Prior to his run at Paramount, he worked with as a producer and development executive for Al Burton Productions at Universal Studios where he wrote and produced '' The New Lassie'' series and served as a Production Consultant on the syndicated hit ''

Charles in Charge ''Charles in Charge'' is an American sitcom television series that premiered on October 3, 1984, on CBS. The series was a production of Al Burton Productions and Scholastic Productions in association with Universal Television and starred Sco ...

''. Beginning his career while still in college at

, Stark worked with Executive Producer Bob Banner to develop and launch the long-running series ''

Star Search ''Star Search'' (later known as ''Ed McMahon's Star Search'') is an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./ Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 29 ...

'' that ran for 12 years and launched the careers of many successful and notable artists. Stark's series that he has overseen or produced have garnered multiple Peabodys, Emmys, Golden Globes, SAG, DGA, WGA, AFI, BANFF and Rose d'Or wins. Stark is the recipient of the Entertainment Industries Council Special Commendation, 2 AFI Television Awards, a Genesis Award, The Prism Award, The Golden Reel Award and received the Help Group Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2019. He is a member of the Producers Guild of America, Writers Guild of America, the Television Academy and a graduate of Northwestern University. He began his behind-the-camera career as an acting/comedy casting director on ''Star Search'' in 1983. As an actor, he co-starred as

Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884). He is 12 ...

in the 1979 television film ''

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

: Beneath the Laughter''.

Personal life

For twenty-four years, Stark was married to actress

Michelle Nicastro Michelle Nicastro (March 31, 1960 – November 4, 2010) was an American actress and singer. Life and career Nicastro was born in Washington D.C., the daughter of Carole Rose (née Guarino) and Norman Joseph Nicastro, who was an ophthalmologist. ...

, until her death of

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

and

brain cancer A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cance ...

in 2010. He has two daughters, Callie and Cady.Michelle Nicastro, Voice Actress in "The Swan Princess," Loses Breast Cancer Battle
Celebrity Circuit (November 10, 2010)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stark, Steve Television producers from Illinois Living people Mass media people from Chicago Northwestern University alumni 1959 births