Adam Sussman, Vice President of Development -
Furry Prawn Productions (NBCU)
Adam Sussman is a veteran television executive and has worked in the NBCUniversal family since 2011. As Vice President of Development for Jason Raff’s Furry Prawn Productions (a network overall deal with the “America’s Got Talent” Showrunner), Adam creates, develops, and sells original unscripted formats across broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms. He is responsible for bringing in A-list talent – including Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin, superstar Jennifer Lopez, and actor Zac Efron – and building projects around the issues that matter to them. In 2020, Adam conceptualized the special, “Sit Down Comedy Sessions with Howie Mandel” (for Just for Laughs) where Howie sat down with the late Bob Saget, Ms. Pat, and Bobby Lee for candid conversations about how they turned tragedy into comedy gold. His proudest talent-driven projects center on pro-social issues including mental health, inclusion and representation, gender equity, LGBT stories, women in STEM, and activism.
A lifelong volunteer, Adam rallied the entertainment community in 2021 and ran the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s “Man of the Year” All-Star campaign, making LLS Los Angeles fundraising history by raising $405,000 in 10 weeks for blood cancer research. He leveraged his celebrity relationships and secured once-in-a-lifetime experiences with Judd Apatow, Jerry Seinfeld, Laura Dern, and others to earn seven cancer research portfolios. Since his start with LLS in 2015, he’s brought in eight entertainment executives to run their own campaigns and carry on his legacy, leading to a total impact of over $2 million dollars.
Before Furry Prawn, Adam was Director of Development for Steele Mill Productions where he worked with Tom Shelly (“Survivor”) to help conceive the original concept for NBC’s “Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls” and create “Save the Last Dance,” the precursor to “World of Dance.” He also contributed to the development of NBC’s “American Dream Builders,” “Love in the Wild II,” and built a global dance format around director/choreographer Kenny Ortega.
Adam climbed the entertainment ladder at Zodiak USA (formerly RDF USA) where he was Manager of Development and instrumental in the conception of “Jessica Simpson’s The Price of Beauty” for VH1. While at the global format company, he developed original vehicles for Ken Jeong, Chris Gardner, will.i.am, and Russell Peters. He started his career working in comedy for veteran producers Pat Tourk Lee and John Moffitt at Moffitt-Lee Productions and HBO’s “The Comedy Festival.”
With a passion for entertainment and social change, Adam is a producer on “The Push for Permission,” a documentary about one comedian’s journey through Postpartum Depression and how humor can bring hope. He sits on the Board of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society Associates and graduated from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
