Mazza to have a hand in Cookie Jar

April 29, 2009 Canadian cartoon producer Cookie Jar Entertainment has hired former Columbia TriStar and Paramount TV division boss Tom Mazza to lead its hunt for the next "Flashpoint." Mazza, who most recently ran branded entertainment studio Madison Road Entertainment ("Treasure Hunters") with Jak Severson, joins Cookie Jar as executive vp and head of worldwide TV, with a focus on moving the company beyond animation and into live-action family programming, ideally for the 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. primetime slots. Cookie Jar is joining a crowded field of Canadian producers, including E1 Television and Shaftsbury Films, who recently have been able to co-produce dramas with U.S. networks no longer willing to shoulder the cost of scripted series on their own.

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