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 is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Chart ...
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. The following busin ...
,
Columbia TriStar &
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...
) 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 subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predec ...
,
Paramount Television
The original incarnation of Paramount Television was the name of the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, that was responsible for the production of Viacom television programs, until it changed its name ...
and
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 Com ...
. 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 and 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 ...
'' (Hulu), ''
Fargo Fargo usually refers to:
* Fargo, North Dakota, United States
* ''Fargo'' (1996 film), a crime film by the Coen brothers
* ''Fargo'' (TV series), an American black comedy–crime drama anthology television series
Fargo may also refer to:
Othe ...
'' (FX), ''
Vikings: Valhalla'' (Netflix) 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 countries which have Friday as their holiday, Wednesday is the fifth day of the week. In countries ...
'' (Netflix).
As President of
MGM/UA Television MGM/UA may refer to:
* Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, American film and television production and distribution company
** United Artists, American film and television studio, now a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
* MGM/UA Home Video, the home video arm of M ...
, 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'' (
EPIX
Epix (pronounced ''epics'' and stylized as P) is an American Pay television, premium cable television, cable and satellite television, satellite television network owned by the Epix Entertainment Limited liability company, LLC subsidiary of Metro- ...
), ''
Condor
Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere.
They are:
* The Andean condor (''V ...
'' (
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, with co-creators Steven Conrad and Bruce Terris writing each episode. The main cast fea ...
'' (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 feature Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle ...
'' (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 (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Mad ...
’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 ...
'', in partnership with
Universal Cable Productions
Universal Content Productions (UCP) is an American television production company operating within the Universal Studio Group division of NBCUniversal.
History Universal Cable Productions
In July 2008, Universal Cable Productions was split off ...
, and the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
series ''
The Event
''The Event'' (stylized as THE EVƎNT) is an American television series containing elements of science fiction, action/adventure and political allegory. It was created by Nick Wauters and aired on NBC from September 20, 2010 to May 23, 2011 ...
'', in partnership with
Universal Television
Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predec ...
. His credits also include Executive Producer on
CBS’ long-running series ''
Medium
Medium may refer to:
Science and technology
Aviation
*Medium bomber, a class of war plane
* Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data
* Medium of ...
'', starring
Patricia Arquette
Patricia Tiffany 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). Her other notable films include '' True Romance'' (1993), '' Ed ...
. 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'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
’s ''
The Game
The Game or The Games may refer to:
Sports and games
* The Game (dice game) (German: ''Das Spiel''), a dice game designed by Reinhold Wittig
* The Game (mind game), a mind game, the objective of which is to avoid thinking about The Game itself
* ...
'' and the U.S. adaptation of ''
The Sketch Show'' 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), a 1984 roguelike video game
* ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia franchise ''.hack''
Music
* ''Hack'' (album), a 199 ...
'' for CBS and ''
Everwood
''Everwood'' (known as ''Our New Life in Everwood'' in the United Kingdom) is an American drama television series created by Greg Berlanti. Berlanti, Mickey Liddell, Rina Mimoun, Andrew A. Ackerman and Michael Green served as executive produc ...
'' for The WB. He had also served as Senior Vice President, Current Programming at
Paramount Network Television
The original incarnation of Paramount Television was the name of the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, that was responsible for the production of Viacom television programs, until it changed its name ...
, where he shepherded multiple episodes of series beginning with the last season of ''
Cheers
''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...
'' that was followed by ''
Frasier
''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub ...
'', ''
JAG'', ''
Becker'', ''
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 se ...
'', ''
Girlfriends'', ''
Duckman
''Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man'' is an American adult animated sitcom that aired on the USA Network from March 5, 1994, through September 6, 1997. It was created and developed by Everett Peck, and is based on characters he created in his ...
'', ''
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''; ''
Star Trek: Voyager'', ''
Soul Food
Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, originating in the Southern United States.Soul Food originated with the foods that were given to enslaved Black people by their white owners on Souther ...
'', ''
Wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...
'', ''
Brooklyn Bridge'', ''
Seven Days'', ''
Clueless'', ''
The Untouchables'', ''
Now and Again
''Now and Again'' is an American science fiction comedy-drama television series created by Glenn Gordon Caron that aired from September 24, 1999 until May 5, 2000 on CBS. The story revolves around the United States government engineering the ...
'' 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 Scot ...
''.
Beginning his career while still in college at
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Chart ...
, Stark worked with Executive Producer
Bob Banner to develop and launch the long-running series ''
Star Search
''Star Search'' was 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 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both version ...
'' 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 his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
: Beneath the Laughter''.
Personal life
For twenty-four years, Stark was married to actress
Michelle Nicastro, until her death of
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...
and
brain cancer
A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secon ...
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
People from Chicago
Northwestern University alumni
1959 births