| Brillstein Entertainment Partners | |
| Predecessor: | The Brillstein Company (1969–1992) |
| Location: | Beverly Hills, California, U.S. |
| Members: | 200 clients |
| Founders: | Bernie Brillstein Brad Grey |
| Owner: | Wasserman |
Brillstein Entertainment Partners (formerly known as Brillstein/Grey Entertainment and Brillstein/Grey Communications) is a talent management firm and television production company formed by the 1986 addition of Brad Grey to The Brillstein Company, founded by Bernie Brillstein in 1969.
On September 18, 2023, it was announced that Casey Wasserman's eponymous company had acquired BEP.[1]
Bernie Brillstein formed The Brillstein Company in 1969, where he continued to manage stars and develop television programming, a career he began in the fabled mailroom of the William Morris Agency. He produced such popular television hits as Hee Haw, The Muppet Show,[2] and Saturday Night Live.[3]
Brillstein managed Saturday Night Live cast members Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and Lorne Michaels, as well as Jim Henson (of The Muppets fame) and Paul Fusco (voice and operator of ALF). Productions for television included and Normal Life.
In 1981, the company produced its first ever television series, Open All Night, under Freeway Productions.[4]
In 1986, Lorimar-Telepictures bought out The Brillstein Company, whereas they would have to transform it into an independently operated and management unit of the studio.[5]
The company became Brillstein Entertainment Partners when Brad Grey left the company to become the head of Paramount Pictures. It is now headed by Jonathan Liebman, Marc Gurvitz, and Cynthia Pett.
In 1984, Brillstein met Brad Grey at a television convention in San Francisco. In 1986,[6] the two formed a production company, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, which packaged programming and managed talent. In 1991, the company signed a production and distribution deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment to produce and distribute films and programs produced by the company.[7] [8]
In 1994, Brillstein-Grey had reached a deal with Capital Cities/ABC to start Brillstein-Grey Communications.[9]
The new management company Eric Murphy joins in HBO's Entourage is based on Brillstein Entertainment, as well as the character Murray Berenson based on the company's founder Bernie Brillstein.
Brillstein sold his shares in the company to Universal Pictures in 1996, giving Grey, his one time protégé, full rein over operations.[10] In 1998, the Brillstein-Grey Communications division was renamed to Brillstein-Grey Television after ABC took back its shares in the company. Before that, Buena Vista Television picked up syndication rights to , before the series was cancelled[11]
In 1999, Universal sold Brillstein's shares to Grey, and the company's television unit was subsequently rechristened Brad Grey Television as a result. Also, Brad Grey Television struck a deal with Columbia TriStar Television to produce and distribute TV shows.[12] Briefly, in 1999, it became Basic Entertainment,[13] before reverting to its original name in 2000.[14]
In 2002, Brad Grey Pictures was shut down, and it was replaced by Plan B Entertainment.[15] Also that year, the company's television unit secured a distribution deal with 20th Century Fox Television.[16] Grey sold his interest in the company in 2005 due to his succeeding Sherry Lansing as Chief executive officer of Paramount Pictures, which created a conflict of interest, and also that year, secured a deal with Touchstone Television.[17] In 2007, the company became the current Brillstein Entertainment Partners.[18]
Several shows by the company now have ancillary rights owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. Some of these shows are distributed by Sony Pictures Television in North America.