Sam Haskell

Emmy-winning producer Sam Haskell, III was named in 2007 by Television Week Magazine “One of the 25 Most Innovative and Influential People in Television of the Last 25 Years,” an honor he shared with Ted Turner, Barbara Walters, Oprah Winfrey, Walter Cronkite and other television legends. Haskell earned his ranking among the industry’s best through his 27-year career at the renowned William Morris Agency where he was one of the most powerful agents and dealmakers in the business.

Since 2012, Sam has run Magnolia Hill Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television in Los Angeles, CA. With his partner Dolly Parton, they produced two television movies for NBC. The first, "Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors," aired on December 10, 2015 and eclipsed over 16 million live viewers making it the most viewed original television movie among the Big Four Networks in six years. The second film, "Dolly Parton’s Christmas Of Many Colors - Circle of Love," was the highly anticipated sequel to the blockbuster ‘Coat of Many Colors,’ which aired on November 30, 2016 on NBC, again ranking #1 in all key demos and delivering 14.5 million live viewers. It has also won the Movieguide Epiphany Prize, the Christopher Award, the Family Film Award, and was nominated for Outstanding Television Movie at the 2017 Primetime Emmy Awards.

Sam completed his 12th movie with Dolly Parton entitled, "Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas" for NBC. It follows Parton’s desire to uplift an exhausted world’s spirits by sharing the unique “mountain magic” she has always found in and around Dollywood at Christmas. Starring Dolly Parton, Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do), Angel Parker (Runaways), Bryan Batt (Mad Men), and Ana Gasteyer (SNL), the movie also features musical guest stars, Miley Cyrus, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Fallon, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Zach Williams. The film, which premiered in 2022, accumulated over 20+ million viewers across broadcast and Peacock, making it the most-watched movie telecast on linear TV in 2022, as well as the most-watched telecast on linear TV since November 2019. For her work in the film, Dolly Parton was nominated for Movieguide’s Grace Prize for most inspiring performance, and the film itself won the Movieguide Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring Television Show. "Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas" has most recently been nominated for Outstanding Television Movie and Outstanding Contemporary Costumes For A Limited Or Anthology Series or Movie for the 2023 Primetime Emmy Awards. Moreover, the film has been nominated by the Hollywood Critics Association for Best Broadcast Network or Cable TV Movie and received an Honorable Mention for the Gracie Award. This marks Sam’s fourth Emmy Nomination for Best Television Movie, including one win for Christmas On The Square. In total, Sam has garnered six Emmy Nominations and two Emmy wins for Magnolia Hill Productions.

Widely known as ""the nice guy in Hollywood,"" Haskell is revered for his myriad of leadership endeavors throughout his career. He served as President of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society from 1997-1998 and served as Chairman of the Television Academy Emmy Hall of Fame Awards from 2001-2003.