Fox Signs First-Look Deal With Cottage Industry
The agreement covers scripted television series and feature films, including original projects and literary adaptations.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Television
Fox Entertainment Studios has signed a first-look deal with Cottage Industry Entertainment, a company founded in 2025 by former Hallmark Media programming executive Lisa Hamilton Daly and Alysia Cotter Thomas. The agreement spans scripted series and feature films, with Fox also optioning Danielle Steel's novel "The Whittiers" for television.
Why it matters
The deal gives Fox early access to a female-driven slate of television and film projects from a newly formed production company. It also brings a major literary property, Steel's 200th published book, into development for adaptation.
Danielle Steel's "The Whittiers" is her 200th published book, making it the centerpiece of the literary adaptation track. No box office, viewership, or budget figures were disclosed for any project under the deal.
The players
Fox Entertainment Studios
Fox Entertainment Studios is the television and film production arm of Fox Corporation, known for developing scripted series and feature content.
Cottage Industry Entertainment
Cottage Industry Entertainment is a production company founded in 2025 that focuses on female-driven scripted television and film.
Danielle Steel
Danielle Steel is a prolific bestselling novelist whose works have been adapted for film and television many times over her career.
The details
Cottage Industry Entertainment produces scripted series, feature films, and limited series centered on female-driven storytelling. Projects in development include a one-hour family drama from writer Jordanna Fraiberg, the adaptation "Summer on Lilac Island" with Delondra Mesa attached to write, and the comedy "Mom's Place" from Angela Kinsey and Audrey Wauchope.
Timeline
2025: Daly and Thomas founded Cottage Industry Entertainment.
November 5, 2026: Fox's first-look deal with Cottage Industry was announced.
Industry Dynamics
The deal follows the model Hallmark Media established with female-driven family and romance programming, now being carried into a major broadcast studio's development slate. It reflects a broader industry pattern of established executives launching independent production companies to package content for networks and streamers.
Viewers will not see these projects until they are produced and distributed, and no networks or streaming platforms have been confirmed for release. The announced projects remain in development, so no air dates or viewing options are available yet.
The takeaway
Development deals like this one signal where studios are placing bets, so watching for the first series orders from Cottage Industry will show which projects reach air. Readers following female-led scripted television can track these announcements as they move from development to production.
Further reading
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Source note: This article includes information reported by TheWrap.
