Naegle, a partner at United Talent Agency and a self-described "HBO addict," was the dealmaker behind the shows "Six Feet Under" and "Men in Trees." She replaces Carolyn Strauss as the network's top creative executive.
She promised no dramatic change in direction, and pronounced herself impressed with the shows in development.
"It's not going to be an about-face for HBO," she said in an interview.
HBO has struggled to find series to match the impact of its two groundbreaking hits. "John From Cincinnati" and "Lucky Louie" didn't make the grade, and the future of the psychiatric drama "In Treatment" is still undetermined.
While HBO is proud of what it has aired, the network has not put on enough new series, said Michael Lombardo, HBO's chief of West Coast operations.
"I do not believe that there are problems here that need fixing," Lombardo said. "We've had some shows that haven't connected with viewers the way we had hoped, but there isn't a show that we put on that we haven't loved."
Among the series HBO has in development: "Suburban Shootout," described as a "subversive" look at the differences between suburban and city women; "Driving With Joanie," a comedy about the life changes facing a new widow; and "Last of the Ninth," a David Milch drama about New York cops in the 1970s.
Makers of a "Dallas"-like comedy "12 Miles of Bad Road" recently went public with their anger at HBO for canceling the series before it ever aired. Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, maker of "Designing Women," sent copies of the show to critics to try to drum up support for the series.
Lombardo said the series wasn't up to HBO standards. HBO, which is owned by Time Warner Inc., owns the series, and tried to sell it to several other networks but they all passed, he said.
"I understand their disappointment," he said. "The resentment I don't understand."
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