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Sara James Tarses was born in Pittsburgh on March 16, 1964 to Jay and Rachel (Newdell) Tarses. The family moved to a suburb of Los Angeles, where her father became a successful sitcom writer (first on “The Bob Newhart Show”).
Ms. Tarses attended Williams College in Massachusetts where she studied play structure and graduated in acting in 1985. She was a production assistant on “Saturday Night Live” in New York City for a season before returning to Los Angeles in 1986 to become a casting director for Productions Lorimar. She joined NBC in 1987 in the “current” comedy programming division (shows already on the air), where she oversaw scripts for shows like “Cheers” and “A Different World”, with Lisa Bonet.
Brandon Tartikoff, NBC’s much-admired head of entertainment, has become his mentor. He quickly promoted Ms. Tarses to the Network’s Comedy Development Department, where she worked on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” which made Will Smith a household name; the strange “Wings”, located at an airport in New England; and “Blossom”, centered on a teenager Mayim Bialik.
Ms. Tarses’ departure from NBC was ugly.
Michael Ovitz, the former agent of polarizing power, had become the president of Disney. He started talking to Ms. Tarses about the ABC cover. But she was under contract with NBC. Rumors were circulating in Hollywood that she had solved the problem by claiming that she had been sexually harassed by Don Ohlmeyer, a senior NBC executive. (Mr. Ohlmeyer blamed Mr. Ovitz for the rumor and publicly called him “the Antichrist,” which caused a media frenzy.) Ms. Tarses and NBC denied the story, as did Mr. Ovitz, but this continued to stalk her, making young Ms. Tarses appear as someone “who would do anything to get ahead,” as Ms. Hirschberg wrote.
When she arrived at ABC in the spring of 1996, Ms. Tarses was the second youngest person to be a network’s senior programmer. (Mr Tartikoff was 31 when he took over from NBC.) Her age, as well as her status as the first woman to hold this prestigious post, has given rise to unusual, often negative, scrutiny. Newsday, the Long Island newspaper, called her “Minnie Mouse” in one article and “terribly ruthless” in another.
Karey Burke, who ran ABC from 2018-2020 and is now president of 20th Television, a leading television studio, said of Ms Tarses in a statement: “She shattered stereotypes and ideas about what ‘a woman leader could accomplish, and led the way. for others, at a price for itself.
After leaving ABC in 1999, Ms. Tarses avoided the limelight and remade as a producer. Several television pilot programs failed, but she eventually found a few modest successes, including “My Boys,” a comedy created by Ms. Thomas and centered on a female sports writer, and “Happy Endings,” a sitcom that dusted off the formula. “Friends”.
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