Eclectic is a good word to describe Jeff Wachtel's television career, because he's worked as both a buyer and a seller. He's held executive roles at Columbia TV and USA Network and helped launch NBCU's cable division, Universal Content Productions (UCP). In those positions he gave life to some of the strongest TV dramas ever, and now he's launched his own Future Shack Entertainment production company. Here he takes us on a ride through an illustrious TV journey that's still going strong.
Party of Five (1994–2000)
Comedies like Seinfeld and Friends ruled in the 1990s, but what about drama? "We needed to figure out how to do dramas with no deficit," says Wachtel, who was then Columbia TV's executive vice president of primetime series. He targeted younger networks, cast relative unknowns and, as with Fox's Party of Five, empowered junior writer-producers Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman. "No one had given them that level of authority, but you try to have good taste and hope that you pick the right people," he says.
Pensacola: Wings of Gold (1997–2000)
"If you could do Baywatch meets Top Gun, we would buy that in Germany," Wachtel says of this syndicated action-drama he executive-produced. "I hired a wonderful guy named Bill Blinn, whose history went back to Bonanza, and together we hatched this show."
A bonus to casting James Brolin as the lead: The actor had just started dating Barbra Streisand. "She was on the set the whole first season," Wachtel says.
Monk (2002–09)
As president of USA Network, Wachtel's penchant for thinking about the global marketplace was evident in this quirky crime procedural about a detective with OCD. "We thought we had a diamond in the script but needed to get a Tony Shalhoub to star, get a Dean Parisot to direct it and spend enough money that it looked as good as any show on the broadcast networks," he says.
The pieces came together for 125 episodes, and the show earned eight Emmy Awards, including three for Shalhoub.
USA Network's "Blue Skies" era
"What's a show that has worked that's not in the current market, and what's our take on it? That's our way in." With that in mind, Wachtel took familiar TV genres and planted them in bright, sunny locales like Santa Barbara (Psych, 2006–14), Miami (Burn Notice, 2007–13) and the Hamptons (Royal Pains, 2009–16). The era helped springboard talent like White Collar's (2009–14) Matt Bomer into big careers.
Suits (2011–19)
Did Wachtel's gut ever tell him when a show was going to click with viewers? "Literally never," he says, laughing. But he recalls that this snappy legal drama for USA, created by Aaron Korsh and starring Gabriel Macht and Patrick J. Adams (and a pre-royal Meghan Markle), was fully formed out of the gate. "By the fourth episode, I went, 'They don’t need my notes. They get the rhythm, the characters.'" (It’s no wonder the series found a resurgence on Netflix last year and has a spinoff, Suits: L.A., in the works.)
Mr. Robot (2015–19)
Wachtel liked Mr. Robot's dark pilot but felt its twisty world was more indie film than TV series. Then his team, including assistants, "literally came into my office and said, 'We have to make this one. You may not get it, boss, but this one matters.'" Casting an unknown Rami Malek was a risk, but as Wachtel told then–USA president Bonnie Hammer, "We have a 3% chance of this show working, but if it works, it’s our Breaking Bad." Spoiler alert: It worked, and the show ran for four seasons.
Murder in a Small Town (2024–)
A small town with a lot of murders to solve? "We're a little bit in Jessica Fletcher territory," Wachtel says, referring to Murder, She Wrote, but this fall Fox series from his Future Shack company is more than meets the eye. "Yes, it’s a crime-of-the-week detective thing, but the first scene is Det. Alberg (Rossif Sutherland) on a date with librarian Cassandra (Kristin Kreuk)," predicting the show's romantic relationship side is "what’s going to make it work."
Good Cop/Bad Cop (2025–)
This comedic police procedural for CW pairs a strait-laced cop (Leighton Meester) with her unruly cop brother (Luke Cook), both working for their police-chief father (Clancy Brown). If it feels like a show from Wachtel's USA days, that's because it was developed there. "One of the things you do when you start a company is go, 'What are my favorite projects I didn’t get to make?'" he says.
This article originally appeared in emmy magazine, issue # 10, 2024, under the title "My Life in TV: Jeff Wachtel."
