Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran CAA TV literary agent Roy Ashton is joining the Gersh Agency as Partner and Head of the Television Literary Department. The recruitment of Ashton, who has been at CAA for more than 13 years, is part of an expansion plan by Gersh, which has been bringing in experienced agents in different areas as partners over the past year, including Bob Hohman, Bayard Maybank and Devra Lieb in the Motion Picture Lit department and Jay Cohen in the Film Financing and Distribution division. At Gersh, Ashton will be tasked with leading the current 6-agent TV lit department and grow it. The agency, which is very strong in TV on the talent side, has now made beefing up its TV lit roster a priority. “Roy is one of the most respected agents in the TV literary field and will be an exceptionally strong asset to the agency,” Gersh co-presidents Bob Gersh, David Gersh and managing partner Leslie Siebert said. “His experience and relationships will make him a great leader as we expand our presence in this area. Bringing Roy in is the first step towards accomplishing this goal.” It is yet unclear who of Ashton’s clients will follow him to Gersh where he will bring the number of partners to 13. “CAA is a terrific agency and I have the highest respect for everyone I have worked with,” he said. Gersh presented me with a unique and special opportunity to be part of building something great. My goal is to build a competitive TV literary department, Gersh has the resources and has made the commitment to make this possible.”

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.