Jerry Offsay will step down as president of programming for Showtime Networks at the end of the year. The search has begun for his successor at the cable net owned by Viacom. Offsay commented in a statement, "Last summer I announced to Matt [Matthew Bank, chairman/CEO of Showtime] that after my 50th birthday I intended to leave Showtime." He said they decided to make the announcement now, although his birthday is in December, to facilitate naming a successor and to make an orderly transition. Offsay is credited with tripling Showtime's slate of original movies and series over the last decade with such projects as HIROSHIMA, DEATH OF A SALESMAN, QUEER AS FOLK, SOUL FOOD, PENN & TELLER and 12 ANGRY MEN. Upcoming series he shepherded are OUT OF ORDER, DEAD LIKE ME and EARTHLINGS.
