Park City local, and founder of Comedy Central, dives into the dark side with debut thriller

PARK CITY, Utah — Art Bell, a longtime Park City resident and former television executive, is set to release his debut thriller, What She’s Hiding, on March 25. Bell, known for his role in launching Comedy Central and serving as president of Court TV, has pivoted to fiction with a high-stakes novel that unfolds against the dark underbelly of New York City.

Bell’s connection to Park City stretches back nearly four decades. “I started coming to Park City to ski in 1986 or 1987 and remember being at one of the early Sundances when Jodie Foster was on the judging committee,” Bell said. “It wasn’t a big event in those days, and we all kind of hung around together.” After years of visiting ski resorts with his wife and children, the family settled in Deer Valley in 2005 and made it their permanent home a few years ago.

His debut novel follows Henry Gladstone, a lawyer at a prestigious Manhattan firm whose world is thrown into chaos when his ex-wife, Leslie, suddenly reappears with a dire warning: If he doesn’t give her a quarter-million dollars, they’ll both be killed. Initially dismissing her claim, Gladstone soon finds his apartment ransacked and receives a menacing phone call from a man with a Russian accent, setting off a desperate search for Leslie and the truth.

The novel evolved organically from what Bell initially envisioned as a short story. “I didn’t know much about it other than it was going to be about a guy who got into a lot of trouble—who really didn’t know much about violence or mortal danger,” he said. “I kept writing, and it just kept going. I was so interested to see what happened with the guy that I couldn’t stop. And when I was done, it was like 90,000 words. So I said, ‘Oh, that’s a novel.’”

Bell’s extensive background in television shaped his approach to crafting suspense. At Court TV, he oversaw daily live courtroom coverage and helped develop original true-crime documentaries and series, honing his understanding of pacing and tension. “Telling a crime story in a documentary is about keeping the audience engaged, using cliffhangers, false leads, and escalating stakes,” Bell said. “That was invaluable when writing a thriller. The challenge isn’t just revealing what happens but keeping the reader off balance.”

His love of classic noir also influenced What She’s Hiding. “I started reading noir in high school—Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler. The cynical worldview, morally ambiguous heroes, snappy dialogue—I wanted to bring that into my book,” he said. “Noir stories are often love stories, and my book is, in a way, about love and obsession.”

New York City serves as both a backdrop and a character in the novel. “It’s a great noir town—tall buildings, deep shadows, and neon lights. The heat and humidity in the summer make everyone edgy. I wanted my protagonist to feel off balance all the time,” Bell said. His own experience living in the city in his 20s and 30s provided inspiration. “Just walking down Fifth Avenue in the middle of 10,000 tourists when you’re trying to get somewhere—it’s a world full of obstacles.”

Bell’s pivot to fiction follows a successful memoir, Constant Comedy: How I Started Comedy Central and Lost My Sense of Humor, chronicling his journey from economist to television executive. His career began in economics before he transitioned to business school and entertainment.

“I always wanted to work in comedy,” he said. “When I got to HBO, I pitched the idea of a 24-hour comedy channel. My boss took it to the chairman, and suddenly, I was creating Comedy Central.” The channel’s early days were tumultuous. “I thought they were going to shut us down daily,” he said. “But somehow, we made it.”

Now fully immersed in the literary world, Bell is already working on a sequel. “People found the main characters fascinating and wanted to see what happens next. Writing a follow-up is a challenge, though—how do you ensure the characters remain compelling while continuing to evolve?” he said.

Bell will discuss his new novel at a Barnes & Noble event in Park City’s Redstone on March 30 at 11 a.m. He will also be the featured speaker for the Park City Library’s Local Speaker Series on July 23. “I’ll be talking about my career, my memoir, and my second or third career as a writer,” he said.

As he prepares for his book’s launch, Bell reflects on how Park City has influenced his creative process. “There’s a real mix of people here, and many of them are storytellers,” he said. “Listening to people’s stories, especially those who didn’t originally come from here, has been incredibly valuable.”

For Bell, storytelling—whether in television or fiction—remains at the heart of his work. “At the end of the day, it’s all about keeping people engaged,” he said. “That’s true for comedy, true crime, and now, thrillers.”