Next Gen 2012: Hollywood's Fastest-Rising Stars
After working at Imagine and ABC, Frankel, 33, (a Syracuse University grad raised in Lafayette Hill, Pa.) was brought aboard at USA to spearhead the drama-heavy network’s foray into comedy. She’s shepherding USA’s comedy pilots, Sirens (from Denis Leary) and Paging Dr. Freed, starring Annie Potts.
INDUSTRY MENTOR: Katie O’Connell, my first boss at Imagine Television back in 2001.
BIG BREAK: Being hired by Steve Stark to be a manager of development at Grammnet Television from my assistant desk at ABC.
10 YEARS FROM NOW: I hope to be a nonwriting producer.
BEST ADVICE: Nobody ever dies with an empty inbox. I used to toil away as an assistant, and Imagine’s Skip Chasey walked by my desk and said somebody had once said it to him. I said, “You’re right, I’m going home.”
CAREER INSPIRATION: Growing up, I was like a walking TV Guide. I knew the grid and what was on what channel. I watched Moonlighting with my dad and Dallas with my mom.
ONLINE OBSESSION: Facebook and Gawker.
WHEN I’M NOT WORKING I’M: Playing with my 17-month-old baby, Zoe [with writer husband Etan Frankel]. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m obsessed with her.
