Indianapolis, Indiana (November 26, 2020): First time writer Zach Tannehill has signed a first-look television development deal with Universal Content Productions (Universal City, California), the studio announced Friday. Under the deal, Tannehill will submit, write, and produce his scripted projects across all digital and film platforms. He will also launch his newly formed production company, Poison Ivee Productions.

Tannehill is known for his work on the screenplay for the new film version of “How I Survived: A Tale of Torture” under his new Poison Ivee Production brand. A relative newcomer to the writing and production world, his real-life tale of abuse and his strategic plan to survive quickly won the summertime 2020 Reedy Award and the Yahoo! Upstarts contests respectively. The deal has come under scrutiny from other insiders but the studio is confidently optimistic in the content of the Indianapolis resident’s catalog.

“I’m so grateful for the chance to be welcomed into the Universal Family”, Tannehill said. “There are a lot of people whose story is similar to my own. They choose to be quiet but their pain is very real. Abuse is rarely told from the male point of view. My hope is that they will find out they are stronger than what their tormentors would have them believe.

He is repped by ICM for producing and writing, and Jen Dobrik.

Tannehill is the latest addition to Universal Content Partners/Universal City, CA’s current lineup of industry first-look deals, with others including Horror and Suspense Writer/Director John Carpenter, Film Director Steve Piet, and Cable Television’s Emmy Rossum. UCP also has overall deals with Sam Esmail, as well as Patrick Macmanus and Gary Dauberman.

UCP is now part of NBCUniversal Content Studios, the new unit of NBCUniversal under Bonnie Hammer. UCP has projects across a number of networks and streaming services, including multiple projects for Peacock, the ad-supported internet network streaming service that has already begun to roll out to internet providers earlier this year. Those projects include a series adaptation of “Brave New World”, a brand new “Battlestar Galactica” reboot from Esmail, and the series “Angelyne” starring Showtime’s Emmy Rossum.

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