‘CSI’ Franchise Creator Anthony E. Zuiker Signs With Literate Following Death Of Longtime Manager
EXCLUSIVE: Anthony E. Zuiker, the creator of the hugely successful CSI TV franchise, has signed with boutique management firm Literate.
This marks a rare new addition to Zuiker’s close-knit representation team, nicknamed affectionately by the writer-producer “Team Zuiker,” who has been shaping his career and brand for more than two decades.
It follows the January death of Zuiker’s beloved manager of over 25 years, Margaret Riley, most recently of Lighthouse Entertainment, who passed away from cancer at the age of 58.
In a moving tribute for Deadline at the time, Zuiker recalled how Riley signed Zuiker on his 30th birthday, 8/17/1998, when he was still trying to break into Hollywood. Helping him land early writing gigs that led to CSIRiley also took Zuiker to the talent agencies, with him landing at CAA with Joe Cohen, and introduced him to entertainment lawyer Kevin Yorn. Both are still members of “Team Zuiker,” with Cohen guiding the creator in the process of finding a new manager, which resulted in Zuiker going with Literate partners Elizabeth Newman, A.B. Fischer and Dennis Kim.
“Before my beloved manager Margaret Riley passed, she used to say, ‘We have a lot more to do together.’ I believe in my heart of hearts, she’d want me to continue,” Zuiker said. “I asked my dear friend and longtime CAA agent Joe Cohen for ‘the best of the best.’ Elizabeth Newman was on that short list. She, and the team at Literate, are the most passionate and engaged group I’ve ever been around. They are the new ‘Team Zuiker.’ We will all work together to continue to break new ground in tech and gaming and tell great global stories in Margaret’s honor.”
On Zuiker’s representation team, the Literate trio joins CAA agents Cohen, Jeff Jacobs, Carly Fromm, and Harley Copen, attorney Yorn of Yorn Levine Barnes Krintzman, business manager Harley Neuman of Neuman + Associates and publicist Jonalyn Morris.
“We are thrilled to be the newest members of Team Zuiker,” Newman said. “Anthony’s visionary storytelling and indefatigable ambition embodies the type of creator we love to partner with, and all of us at Literate are looking forward to working alongside him in this new chapter.”
Teaming with Jerry Bruckheimer Television, Zuiker created CSI: Crime Scene Investigationwhich launched in 2000 on CBS and spawned four spinoff series, CSI: Miami, CSI: New York, CSI: Cyber, and CSI: Vegas, airing just under 900 episodes to date and garnering two Guinness World Records.
Zuiker is heavily involved in the storytelling and day-to-day writing operations for CSI: Vegasnow in its third season.
“At Jerry Bruckheimer Television, we’ve watched Anthony Zuiker grow from a first-time creator with a groundbreaking idea, to the talented man he is today,” Bruckheimer said. “Anthony is loyal to the people around him and is relentless about pushing the limits on storytelling.”
Zuiker, who has multiple scripted and unscripted TV projects in development, also has a deal with Sinclair to develop original content and series. He serves as executive producer on themusical The Hippest Trip, based on the iconic Soul Train TV series, and winner of seven BroadwayWorld San Francisco/Bay Area Awards, including Best New Musical or Play. Zuiker is also an investor in Alicia Keys’ new musical, Hell’s Kitchen, coming to Broadway this spring.
Other top TV creators/showrunners on Literate’s roster include Suits and Suits: LA creator Aaron Korsh, Bridgerton creator Chris Van Dusen and The Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon executive producer/showrunner Angela Kang.
