Lena Dunham Debuts Production Company, First-Look Deal With HBO

By Elaine Low

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “Girls” creator Lena Dunham has unveiled her new New York-based production company, Good Thing Going, which has a portfolio of projects that spans television, film, theater and podcasts, with an exclusive first-look deal with HBO.

Good Thing Going produced with Bad Wolf the new international-finance drama series “Industry,” for which Dunham directed the pilot. The company is additionally producing a project with HBO that centers on Rachel Williams, a former friend and victim of Anna Delvey, the millennial grifter who posed as a wealthy German heiress. The network secured Williams’ story rights; Dunham and journalist Collier Meyerson will pen the story.

Previously announced projects include the half-hour HBO Max dramedy “Generation,” created by 17-year-old Zelda Barnz, which Dunham is executive producing for the upcoming WarnerMedia streaming service. The series “follows a group of high school students whose exploration of modern sexuality tests deeply entrenched beliefs about life, love and the nature of family in their conservative community.”

Dunham is additionally set to write and direct a film adaptation of “Catherine Called Birdy,” the novel by Karen Cushman about a 14-year-old girl who “bucks against convention in 1290 England.” Working Title, in association with Good Thing Going, will produce the movie, which is slated to shoot early next year.

As a scribe, she’ll also be penning “Watch Me,” a feature film about “the downfall of a badly behaving talk show pundit” that will be produced by Amy Pascal.

Michael P. Cohen, Dunham’s manager, will lead Good Thing Going’s team as president. Liz Watson will head development and production in New York and the U.K. Marissa Diaz will head development and production in Los Angeles. Soham Joglekar is the team’s New York-based development coordinator.

Dunham said that her production company is committed to developing “artist-led” film and television, in addition to her own work, to amplify their voices.

“As a producer, my only goal is to give other artists the chance to be as noisy and honest as I’ve been,” said Dunham. “I’m firmly of the believe that we grow together when we allow each other to be as messy and complex in our art as we are in our lives. I’m so excited to be leading Good Thing Going with a group of close collaborators who share my hunger for getting hooked on new voices and perspectives.”

Good Thing Going has also allied itself with organizations that include Los Angeles-area women’s rehab and sober-living facility Friendly House and the David Lynch Foundation as it secondarily focuses on charitable giving and creating awareness about mental health, addiction and trauma.