Nicole Clemens has a broad range of experience across her career, and that varied background serves her well as a studio president. Paramount Television Studios is set to launch some big-swing shows, and Clemens has her fingerprints on all of them.
“My background is first as a television executive, and then as an agent for film and TV, and then as a producer and a buyer,” she said. “I’ve done all the roles, so I’m very, very, very hands-on.”
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Paramount Television Studios series include Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on Prime Video, The Haunting of Bly Manor on Netflix, Station Eleven on Max, and Paramount Plus shows such as The Offer.
Partners know they’ll get a positive and collaborative experience at Paramount, Clemens believes. “Our goal is for it to be an incredibly beneficial and enriching and supportive process,” she said, “as opposed to someone not feeling like the left hand knows what the right hand is doing.”
Golden State Girl
It was in high school in Long Beach, California, that Clemens’s career path took shape. She took part in a project at the Long Beach Museum of Art’s video archive, where students produced a magazine program that went on local access TV. “I was like, ‘Oh, I like this,’ ” Clemens said. “I want to do this.”
She moved to Los Angeles after college “because I met somebody who knew somebody who knew somebody,” she said. Temp work led to entry-level jobs, and bigger things followed.
She worked at Rod Holcomb Productions and Spelling Television, spent 16 years at talent agency ICM, was executive VP of series development at FX and was at Anonymous Content before landing at Paramount in 2018.
Clemens cited role models, including former CBS Entertainment chair Nina Tassler, former Paramount Pictures CEO Sherry Lansing and agent Nancy Josephson, among others, and eagerly looks to mentor young colleagues. “I think one of the benefits of getting older, besides gravity having an effect on every part of your body,” she said with a laugh, “is that you start to realize that the real joy is in giving back.”
She has notably hired an all-female leadership team, across development, current, production, business affairs, casting and marketing. “She’s a great leader who is very protective and supportive of her team,” said George Cheeks, CBS president and CEO (and part of Paramount’s new “office of the CEO”).
Nicole is a fearless, tenacious advocate for her projects. She has great creative instincts but she’s never walked away from her agenting skills.”
Aron Eli Coleite, Showrunner
Cheeks also mentioned Clemens’s superb relationships with talent, which came into play with The Spiderwick Chronicles. The first season was in the can, but Disney Plus canceled the show before it debuted. It premiered on The Roku Channel last month, and had the best first weekend of any on-demand Roku show.
Showrunner Aron Eli Coleite said Clemens initially pushed him to take on Spiderwick, encouraging the reluctant producer to give the script one more read. Clemens then pushed him to “go deeper” on characters and story.
He also saw her scramble to find a home for the show after its surprise cancellation. “It showed me just how much Nicole is a champion on this project,” Coleite said. “She’s been relentless about it ever since. She never abandoned us, and never let the show go.”
It’s typical Nicole Clemens, Cheeks said. “Nicole is a fearless, tenacious advocate for her projects,” he said. “She has great creative instincts but she’s never walked away from her agenting skills. She has a mastery of where the industry is headed. She knows the right places to go to set up her projects.”
‘A Passionate Advocate’
Things are characteristically busy at Paramount Television Studios. Projects include the Taika Waititi-Jemaine Clement Time Bandits series and Billy Crystal drama Before, both at Apple TV Plus. Morgan Wandell, head of international development at Apple TV Plus, described Clemens as a triple threat. “She has impeccable taste, is a passionate advocate for her projects and is a trusted partner known for being both fair and tough when needed,” Wandell said.
Clemens unwinds from a challenging work day by hopping on a sailboat. “There’s always something to do — you’re always keeping your eye on something,” she said. “It’s very relaxing and it puts things in perspective.”
