EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures Television is bolstering its drama division, bringing on Eric Phillips as VP of Drama Development. In his new role, he will focus on developing new drama series for all platforms for the U.S. scripted division.
For the past decade, Phillips has been integral in supporting established and emerging creatives to develop and sell their projects. In April 2018, Phillips joined forces with visual artist Hebru Brantley to launch Angry Hero, an IP-centric production company built around Brantley’s flagship character, Flyboy. At Angry Hero, Phillips set up a slate of features at Netflix, Amazon MGM, Warner Bros. Animation, Lionsgate, and a TV pilot at Starz with SPT, leading to a first-look deal with Chernin Entertainment. Phillips also produced Erax, a short film for Netflix as part of their Emerging Filmmaker Initiative, as well as Wondery’s viral true crime Podcast Over My Dead Body: Fox Lake.
In publishing, Phillips has set up projects in comics and children’s picture books to create underlying IP for adaptation. He served as editor on the original comic book Action Pact written by New York Times bestselling comic book author Jim Krueger, with film rights initiated at Chernin Entertainment. In addition, Phillips co-authored the children’s picture book Laundry Land with Brantley, which Sarah Davis illustrated. Both books are set to be published in 2025.
“We are thrilled to welcome Eric, as his passion, focus, and drive make him an excellent fit for the team at SPT. We look forward to having him contribute his creative knowledge to our expanding slate of top-level drama series,” said Andrew Plotkin, EVP of Drama Development, to whom
Added Phillips, “I am excited to join SPT and be a part of Katherine, Lauren, and Andrew’s group! They’ve produced some of the most popular and acclaimed shows currently on television, and I look forward to being a member of the Sony Pictures family.”