‘East New York’ Adds Ed Redlich & Thom Sherman As EPs, Director Mo McRae As Supervising Producer

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy-winning writer-producer Ed Redlich (Unforgettable), former CBS Entertainment head of programming Thom Sherman, and NAACP Image Award–nominated filmmaker Mo McRae (A Lot Of Nothing) have joined the creative team of the freshman CBS drama series East New York, from Warner Bros. Television.

TV veteran Redlich, who had been on the show as a consulting producer since after the pilot, is coming on board full-time as an executive producer, working alongside series co-creators, executive producers, and co-showrunners William Finkelstein and Mike Flynn.

Sherman will serve as an executive producer as part of the overall deal with CBS Network and CBS Studios for his newly launched production company, Play Well Entertainment. This marks the first project under the expansive pact he segued to after stepping down as Senior Executive Vice President of Programming For CBS Entertainment in November. Sherman had been very closely associated with East New York in his previous role as CBS executive; he was very involved in the series’ development and its fall launch.

Finkelstein and Flynn executive produce alongside Redlich, Sherman and Michael M. Robin, who also is a director of multiple episodes. 

McRae, who started as an episodic director on East New York, will serve as supervising producer and a director on the series, directing six episodes during the show’s first season. This marks his first series producing job.

The expansion of East New York‘s producing team follows the full-season order for the freshman series. It also comes after the exits last fall of series’ executive producers Christine and Mark Holder following an investigation by WBTV.

East New York is the No. 2 new primetime series, delivering 7.09 million viewers per episode in most current ratings, and it is the No. 2 entertainment program among African American viewers.

Amanda Warren stars as Regina Haywood, the newly promoted deputy inspector of East New York, an impoverished, working-class neighborhood at the eastern edge of Brooklyn. She leads a diverse group of officers and detectives, some of whom are reluctant to deploy her creative methods of serving and protecting during the midst of social upheaval and the early seeds of gentrification.

Redlich’s prior TV credits include Unforgettable, SEAL Team, and Without a Trace for CBS, as well as Felicity. He shared an Outstanding Drama Series Emmy for his work on The Practice.

McRae’s feature film directorial debut, A Lot of Nothing, had its world premiere at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival, and he is nominated for Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Motion Picture) at the upcoming 2023 NAACP Image Awards. The film was recently acquired by RLJE Films and will debut in theaters and on demand Feb. 3. As an actor, McRae’s TV credits include The Flight Attendant, Big Little Lies, The First Purge, Pitch, Empire, Murder in the First, and Sons of Anarchy, among others.