Lauren Corrao Exits As Head Of Original Programming At Freeform

Lauren Corrao is leaving Freeform after a year-and-a-half stint as EVP, Original Programming and Development. Her exit comes four months after Tara Duncan was appointed President of Freeform, succeeding Tom Ascheim.

In her return to the executive ranks, Corrao was tapped for the head of original programming job in April 2019 by Ascheim. The position had been vacant for five months following Karey Burke’s move to ABC. There is no word on immediate replacement.

Corrao oversaw all scripted and unscripted development and current original programming, as well as casting and talent development.

During her tenure, Freeform renewed Grown-ish, Good Trouble, Everything’s Gonna Be Okay and Motherland: Fort Salem and canceled Siren, Party of Five and Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger. Like with all other networks, production on Freeform’s original scripted series were was halted by the pandemic. To keep the original pipeline going, earlier this year Corrao greenlighted the remotely producedLove in the Time of Corona as well as the election-themed Kal Penn Approved This Message.

Before joining Freeform, Corrao was co-president of Tornante TV, the independent studio owned by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, where she developed and executive produced several projects, including AMC’s upcoming horror-fantasy series, NOS4A2.

Corrao, whose exit from Freeform was first reported by THR, previously spent eight years at Comedy Central rising to President, Original Programming and Development. During her time there she oversaw The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. She also developed and oversaw Chappelle’s Show, RENO 911, The Sarah Silverman Program, Tosh 2.0, Workaholics, and the network’s event programming, such as the Comedy Central Roast franchise, the Night of Too Many Stars autism benefit and many one-hour standup comedy specials.

Corrao’s extensive resume also includes stints at Fox Broadcasting Co., overseeing alternative and late-night programming with series such as Mad TV, King of the Hill and That 70’s Show, as head of Ellen DeGeneres’ Warner Bros. TV-based company, and a production deal at Touchstone TV, partnering with Emmy Award-winning writer Peter Tolan. Corrao began her career at MTV where she rose to the rank of VP and executive producer. She oversaw the development and production of such shows as The Real World, The State, The Ben Stiller Show and The Jon Stewart Show.