Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Farhad Safinia, creator, executive producer and showrunner of Starz’s upcoming drama series Boss, has signed with WME where he will be represented by a team led by Ari Emanuel. Boss, starring Kelsey Grammer as a Machiavellian Chicago mayor who is hiding a potentially debilitating medical problem, does not premiere until next Friday but has already earned as second-season renewal by the network. The spec script for Boss, which Safinia developed with Grammer, marked the Apocalypto co-writer’s TV debut. Safinia continues to be active on the feature side — he is attached to direct The Professor And The Madman for Paramount and Icon Prods., based on the book he adapted, and is currently writing the Allen Counter project at Sony for Will Smith to star. Safinia had been agentless since leaving ICM with his agent-turned-manager Brian Sher in 2008.  Sher, an executive producer on Boss, continues to manage Safinia. With the signing of Safinia, WME now reps all key auspicies on Boss, including star/exec producer Grammer and director/exec producer Gus Van Sant.

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