Lindsey Kasabian Named Senior Vice President, Casting, Freeform

Lindsey Kasabian has been named senior vice president of Casting for Freeform, it was announced TODAY by Sharon Klein, executive vice president of Casting, Walt Disney Television, to whom she will report. In this role, she will work closely with Freeform President Tara Duncan as head of casting for the young adult cable network, responsible for identifying and helping to select the acting talent for all ongoing series and pilots. The new assignment is effective immediately.

"Lindsey is a gifted executive who has distinguished herself as someone producers and executives trust, and Tara and I knew she was just the right person to help lead Freeform's casting going forward," commented Klein. "She is a champion of actors and, not only finds exactly the person the producers are looking for, she'll bring in the person producers didn't even know they were looking for and end up falling in love with on sight, which is THE TEST of a truly creative casting executive."

Said Kasabian, "I've been so impressed with Tara's vision for Freeform, so the chance to be a part of it was incredibly exciting. There is an energy to the network of risk-taking and enthusiasm that is palpable and invigorating. I am so grateful to my longtime mentor, Sharon Klein, for this opportunity and to Tara for inviting me to join her on this ride."

Kasabian recently led the casting efforts of the former Touchstone Television (aka Fox 21 Television Studios) as vice president. Throughout her tenure, she served as the principal casting executive on Showtime's hit "Homeland" and was vital in securing Mandy Patinkin, Damian Lewis and Rupert Friend among others for its eight-season run. She also covered Nat Geo's anthologies "Genius" (Geoffrey Rush, Antonio Banderas and Cynthia Erivo) and "The Hot Zone" (Julianna Margulies, Tony Goldwyn and Daniel Dae Kim). She oversaw the casting of FX's critically acclaimed "Fosse/Verdon," "Pose" and, most recently, "The Old Man" with Jeff Bridges. Recently, Kasabian worked on "Dopesick" for Hulu starring Michael Keaton, Rosario Dawson and Kaitlyn Dever. Her first collaboration with Freeform was the pilot "Single Drunk Female," starring Sofia Black D'Elia and Ally Sheedy, which was just picked up to series.

She's worked alongside numerous creators including Lena Waithe ("The Chi"), Howard Gordon ("Tyrant"), Joel Fields ("The Americans"), Elwood Reid ("Barkskins"), Ken Biller ("Legends"), Glen Mazzara ("Damien"), Nathaniel Halpern ("Tales from the Loop"), Hart Hanson ("Backstrom"), Alex Cunningham ("Chance") and Veena Sud ("Seven Seconds" and "The Stranger").

Kasabian started at the former 20th Century Fox Television in fall 2006 as an assistant in the casting department. She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in theater.

Photo Credit: Corey Nickols

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