‘Fear Not’ & ‘How To Survive Without Me’s Bash Doran Inks Overall Deal With Paramount Television Studios

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Television Studios has signed an exclusive overall deal with TV writer and playwright Bash Doran (Fear Not, Beef) to create, develop, and produce original scripted series for the studio through Pete’s Uncle, her company with producing partner Mallory Baysek.

The pact was negotiated before the close of PTVS parent Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. Doran has upcoming series on both sides of the combined Skydance company. She developed and co-wrote with Greg Berlanti the pilot for the upcoming HBO Max drama series How to Survive Without Me, starring Ray Romano, Kaley Cuoco and Joshua Jackson, which is produced by PTVS’ new TV studio corporate sibling Warner Bros. Television. Doran also wrote Fear Not, the upcoming Paramount+ limited series starring Anne Hathaway from MGM Television.

“Bash is a master storyteller whose work is audacious, bold, and singular,” said Matt Thunell, President of Paramount Television Studios. “She is a force of nature, and we are honored that Bash has chosen PTVS as her creative home. We can’t wait to build with her.”

In a contracted TV marketplace, Doran received three green lights over the past year or so, a six-episode straight-to-series order for Fear Not at Paramount+ and pilot pickups for How To Survive Without Me at HBO Max and Foster Dade at Hulu. Of the two pilots — both done in collaboration with Berlanti — How To Survive Without Me went to series with a 15-episode order. Berlanti is showrunning with Doran executive producing.

British-born Doran also created and executive produced Traitors for Channel 4 and Netflix, was a co-executive producer on Hulu’s The Looming Tower, a consulting producer on Netflix’s Beef and writer-producer on NBC’s Smash, Showtime’s Masters of Sex and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. In features, Doran co-wrote the Netflix film Outlaw King starring Chris Pine and directed by David Mackenzie, with her upcoming movie Henry, financed by StudioCanal and starring Ralph Fiennes, shooting this year.

“I am immensely looking forward to building a relationship with Matt, Shelley Zimmerman, and the team at Paramount Television Studios,” Doran said. “I am thrilled to have been given the resources to build my slate at a single home. My hope is to create story after story that delivers on the epic, the intimate and timeliness — and attracts the highest caliber of creative collaborators.”

Doran and Baysek launched Pete’s Uncle in 2022 with the mission to tell deeply human stories at scale and build distinctive worlds. Baysek serves as co-producer on Fear Not, which Doran executive produces.

With the deal, Doran joins PTVS’ roster of talent that includes Yellowjackets creators Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson, Iron Ocean’s Jessica Biel & Michelle Purple, The Wheel of Time creator Rafe Judkins, and Avatar: The Last Airbender writer/executive producer Christine Boylan as well as joint pacts with CBS Studios for Liz Tigelaar, with Paramount Pictures for Issa Rae and Jon M. Chu and with the film and DTC divisions for the Duffer Brothers. She is repped by UTA, Untitled Entertainment and Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham.