Fox Entertainment Studios Inks First-Look Deal With Cottage Industry

By Elena Vasquez

Fox Entertainment Studios has signed a first-look development and producing deal with Cottage Industry Entertainment, the company launched by executives Lisa Hamilton Daly and Alysia Cotter Thomas. The agreement covers scripted television series and feature films, and it comes with a named first project: Fox has optioned Danielle Steel's novel "The Whittiers" for television adaptation.

The deal signals Fox's investment in a specific editorial lane. Hamilton Daly and Cotter Thomas founded Cottage Industry to focus on what they call "emotionally engaging, female-driven storytelling spanning romantic comedies, family dramas, mysteries, thrillers and other broadly appealing genres."

What television projects are in development?

Beyond "The Whittiers," the television slate lists three titles:

• A one-hour family drama from writer Jordanna Fraiberg, whose credits include "The Dead Girls Detective Agency"
• An adaptation of Lindsay MacMillan's novel "Summer on Lilac Island," with Delondra Mesa ("Z Nation") attached to write
• The comedy "Mom's Place," from Angela Kinsey ("The Office") and Audrey Wauchope ("Crazy Ex-Girlfriend")

Each project pairs an established writer with a format Fox already programs: family drama, book adaptation and comedy.

What films are on the slate?

The feature side carries three titles:

• "It All Comes Down to This," a hockey-themed romantic comedy from screenwriters Sam Sklaver and Elizabeth Peterson
• "The View from Lake Como," based on the novel by Adriana Trigiani, who is also writing the adaptation
• An adaptation of Cynthia Hand's "The Afterlife of Holly Chase" by Ali Laventhol and Tawnya Bhattacharya

Two of the three film projects derive from novels, matching the book-to-screen pattern set by "The Whittiers" and "Summer on Lilac Island." Book adaptations account for at least three projects across the combined slate.

Who are Hamilton Daly and Cotter Thomas?

Both partners arrive with long track records. Hamilton Daly served as executive vice president of programming at Hallmark Media, where she oversaw "The Way Home," "When Calls the Heart," "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story," "Mistletoe Murders" and "Ripple." She was also director of original series at Netflix, with earlier stints at Lifetime and A+E Films.

Cotter Thomas was most recently a literary agent at Paradigm, where she packaged projects including Ross Evan's spec script "How to Save a Marriage" to Sony Pictures. Earlier she worked at Warner Bros., as part of the team that developed the "Batman" franchise with Christopher Nolan. She was also a VP at Legendary Entertainment and later VP of creative affairs at Working Title in London.

What did Fox say about the deal?

"Lisa and Alysia bring a terrific combination of creative instincts, industry experience and a real understanding of what connects with audiences," said Fox Entertainment Studios head of scripted Hannah Pillemer in a statement. "Lisa has helped build some of television's most successful and enduring female-driven series, while Alysia has spent her career developing films and championing filmmakers, storytellers and other outstanding creative voices."

Pillemer added that the pair have "created a company with a clear point of view, a strong commercial sensibility and a growing slate of projects that we're pleased to welcome to Fox."

Hamilton Daly and Cotter Thomas responded in a joint statement: "Fox Entertainment Studios has been a tremendous partner in helping us build Cottage Industry and bring our creative vision to life. We share a belief in stories that entertain, move people and keep audiences coming back, whether that's a compelling family drama, a smart romantic comedy or a suspenseful thriller."

The partners also credited Pillemer's team with understanding "both the creative and business sides of what we're building, and we're looking forward to continuing to develop projects together across television and film."

No premiere dates, budgets or episode counts were announced. The first test of the partnership will be which of the six named projects moves to production first.