Brent Miller, the producer who helped Norman Lear achieve even more success in the legendary icon’s final years, is launching his own shingle. Miller will continue his first-look deal with Sony Pictures TV, originally under Lear’s Act III Prods., via the new company A House On Brame Productions.
Miller was most recently president of production at Act III, and spent more than a decade as Lear’s producing partner, up until Lear died in December at 101. As part of the transition, Jonathan Goldberg will also move over to the new entity and continue as Miller’s development executive. (The future of Act III is still to be determined.)
“I couldn’t be more grateful to the entire team at Sony for their loyalty and ongoing trust in our partnership,” Miller said in a statement. “I look forward to this next chapter.”
At Act III, Miller and Lear won two Primetime Emmys (in 2019 and 2020) as executive producers of ABC’s “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” specials, which they teamed up to exec produce with Jimmy Kimmel and Kerry Washington, among others. The most recent installment, which aired in December 2021, earned two more Primetime Emmy noms. Miller also scored a fifth Primetime Emmy nom for producing the ABC primetime special “Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter” with Done & Dusted Prods.
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Lear, the legendary producer behind iconic series like “All in the Family,” had turned much of his attention on advocacy and philanthropic work in the 2000s, which is when Miller first started working with him. Later, Lear focused on writing his memoir, “Even This I Get to Experience,” and then on a documentary about his life, “Just Another Version of You.” It was while working on the documentary that Miller got the sense Lear was ready to tackle TV once more.
Miller was instrumental in helping bring Lear back into TV with the reimagining of “One Day at a Time,” from Gloria Calderón Kellett and Mike Royce, starring Justina Machado and Rita Moreno. Their slate ballooned from there, mostly recently with a new, animated version of “Good Times,” which just released last week on Netflix.
Miller will continue to be attached to all development that he and Lear worked on at Sony, including the upcoming Amazon Freevee series “Clean Slate,” starring George Wallace and Laverne Cox. Also in the works is Netflix’s “The Corps” (working title), based on the Greg Cope White memoir “The Pink Marine.” Miles Heizer and Vera Farmiga star.
In features, Miller’s credits include the upcoming project “Duino,” from Juan Pablo Di Pace, as well as the docs “I Got a Monster,” “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided To Go For It” and “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.” He and Lear were also EPs on Heidi Ewing’s narrative debut, “I Carry You With Me,” which won the Audience and Innovator Awards at Sundance.
Miller is repped by Diane Golden at Katz, Golden Lerner.