More names have emerged for Amazon MGM Studios’ top TV job, which became vacant last Wednesday when Vernon Sanders stepped down as Head of Global Television. The list includes executives who have held a similar position at rival streamers.
Top among them is Netflix veteran Peter Friedlander, who last month exited as Head of UCAN (U.S.-Canada) Scripted Series after 14 years at the global streamer, with some sources suggesting that he may already be in negotiations for the Amazon post.
Other sources indicate that the search is still active, with other high-profile TV executives in consideration. That includes former USA Network and Syfy President Chris McCumber, who was most recently President of Blumhouse Television; and Susan Rovner, currently a producer with series in the works at multiple platforms — including Prime Video/Amazon MGM Studios — and former Chairman of Entertainment Content for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming.
Channing Dungey, Chairman and CEO for Warner Bros. Television Group and US Networks, also has been mentioned. Just like her Warner Bros. Discovery colleague, Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content, I hear she too was approached but is under contract for at least two more years and not available.
Another top TV executive who recently became available, Chris McCarthy, former co-CEO of Paramount Global and president of Showtime/MTV Entertainment, is rumored to be landing a new job. While Amazon had been mentioned as a possible destination when he left Paramount in late July, that is no longer considered the case, I hear.
A rep for Amazon declined comment on the ongoing executive search, conducted by Mike Hopkins, Head of Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios. In his memo about Sanders’ exit, Hopkins noted that Sanders would “stay on during a transition period as we work to bring on a new leader for this team.”
That process could take a few weeks, sources said. As Deadline reported last week, Hopkins had a head start and began meeting with executives over the past couple of months. In his farewell note to staff, Sanders revealed that he had made the decision to leave over the summer.
“I’ve found myself increasingly distant from what originally drew me to this industry – the day-to-day creative process of making television,” he wrote. “Earlier this summer, I made the decision to return to those creative roots.”
The exact scope of the top TV post at Amazon is unclear as the company saw the departures of two top creative executives this year, Amazon MGM Studios head Jennifer Salke, whose position was not backfilled, and Sanders.
