Amazon MGM Studios Scripted TV restructures into genre formats

Amazon MGM Studios’ new TV chief Peter Friedlander is reorganizing the department into genre-specific divisions, leading to the departures of executives Laura Lancaster and Nick Pepper and the arrival of Netflix veteran Blair Fetter.

Starting Monday, the TV division of Amazon’s MGM Studios will move from its current model — split into wholly owned and co-productions — to one separated into drama and comedy, world-building, animation and unscripted genres. Under this new organization, the development and current teams for each genre will work within the same divisions.

Previously, Pepper led the wholly owned projects, while Lancaster led the co-production segment. Now, Fetter joins Amazon MGM Studios as head of worldbuilding and genre series. Worldbuilding execs Tom Lieber and Matt King will report to Fetter and Fetter will report to Friedlander.

The remainder of the current TV leadership team includes Jenn Levy (previously announced as head of unscripted and documentary television) and Melissa Wolfe (who will continue as head of animation), who will report directly to Friedlander. Kara Smith, Michael McDonald and Jen Chambers will serve as interim heads of drama, comedy and young adult programming, while Friedlander finds a new head of drama and comedy.

Global IP head Lauren O’Connor and MGM Television scripted series boss Lindsay Sloane will also report to Friedlander.

Lancaster and Pepper are in talks to close deals at Amazon.

See Friedlander’s Monday memo to staff announcing the restructuring changes, obtained by Varietybelow.

All,

I’m writing to announce a new organizational structure for the Scripted Series team at Amazon MGM Studios, designed to accelerate our mission: delivering exceptional original television that captivates audiences around the world. Effective immediately, we are transitioning from our current structure – split between Wholly Owned and Co-Productions – to a streamlined, genre-based organization (drama and comedy, world-building, animated and unscripted). Both Development and Current will fall under this new framework, which will provide greater clarity, specialist expertise and clear ownership across our entire portfolio.

As part of this evolution, Laura Lancaster and Nick Pepper will leave the organization. Deal talk production is underway. Nick and Laura have been invaluable builders of our series of scripts, and we are very grateful for their important contributions to our success. Laura has made incredible contributions to Prime Video’s programming successes as she and her team led the creative oversight of The Summer I Turned Pretty, Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, Fallout, Reacher, The Terminal List, The Better Sister, We Were Liars, and upcoming series such as Spider-Noir, Blade Runner 2099, Scarpetta, and God of War. Nick was the driving force behind the critically acclaimed Prime Video series Overcompensating and the upcoming titles Tomb Raider, Elle, Young Sherlock and Carrie. In addition, Nick has built a bold and distinctive animated series including Secret Level, Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss and two of Critical Role’s premium campaigns, Vox Machina and Mighty Nein.

With this transition, I am pleased to announce that Blair Fetter will join Amazon MGM Studios as Head of Worldbuilding & Genre Series, reporting to me beginning February 2. Blair brings excellent experience from Netflix, where he oversaw Spectacle Series and was instrumental to the success of shows such as Stranger Things, Ozark, The Queen’s Gambit, Death by Lightning, BoJack Horseman, The Haunting of Hill House and 3 Body Problem. His ability to explore and develop vast worlds, combined with his dedication to high-quality storytelling, make him an ideal addition to my leadership team. Tom Lieber and Matt King will report to Blair and continue to focus on our Worldbuilding genre programming.

As previously announced, Jenn Levy has joined as head of Unscripted and Documentary Television. Melissa Wolfe will continue as head of animation and now reports directly to me. For our drama, comedy and young adult programming, Kara Smith, Michael McDonald and Jen Chambers will report to me on an interim basis until we finalize the structure and install a new head of drama and comedy. As a result of these changes, Lauren O’Connor, Head of Global IP, will now report directly to me. Lindsay Sloane, who runs MGM Television, Scripted Series, will also continue to report to me.

By organizing around these specialized genres with dedicated leadership, we will make faster progress, make sharper creative decisions and continue to build groundbreaking series that define the future of television. I am energized by the opportunities in front of me and confident in this team’s ability to deliver results for our clients and the creative community in which we work.

Thank you all,
Peter