Liz Meriwether Extends 20th Century Fox TV Deal

By Daniel Holloway

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “New Girl” creator Liz Meriwether has signed an extended overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television.

The multi-year agreement will keep Meriwether in place at the studio where she signed her first overall deal five years ago, and where she has multiple pieces of business.

“Liz is the greatest, and we all hope she will stay at this studio forever,” said creative affairs president Jonnie Davis. “She’s a spectacular talent and an incredibly special person.”

Meriwether’s “New Girl,” a single-camera comedy starring Zooey Deschanel, ended its seven-season run on Fox Broadcasting in May. The writer and exec producer currently has two projects at 20th — ABC’s upcoming single-camera comedy series “Single Parents” with creator JJ Philbin and non-writing exec producer Katherine Pope, and Fox Broadcasting comedy pilot “Bless This Mess” with Lake Bell, which is in contention to be added to Fox’s lineup at midseason, pending a series order.

Meriwether said, “20th gave me my first job before I even owned Final Draft, and they’ve been an incredibly supportive home for me as an artist for almost a decade. I’m thankful I get to continue making television with them — I wouldn’t want to be on conference calls with anyone else.”