{"id":343643,"date":"2025-10-30T17:41:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T17:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/343643\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T17:41:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T17:41:13","slug":"paramount-tv-studios-sets-executives-amid-layoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/343643\/","title":{"rendered":"Paramount TV Studios Sets Executives Amid Layoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tParamount<\/a> TV Studios is reorganizing its leadership team amid the mass layoffs at Paramount<\/a> following its merger with Skydance.<\/p>\n

\n\tMatt Thunell, head of Paramount TV Studios<\/a>, announced the news in a memo to staff Thursday, writing: \u201cI know these are a lot of changes, but I am confident this new structure will strengthen collaboration, streamline decision-making, and super-charge our growth. In the coming weeks, we will continue the integration process, spending time on creative and business strategy under our new leadership team \u2014more on that work soon. Finally, I want to take a moment to thank our colleagues who are transitioning out of their roles. They have each contributed enormously to our organization, and we are grateful for their leadership, partnership, and many achievements. Please join\u202fme in wishing them the very best.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSince August, Thunell has been running a merged division comprised of Skydance Television and Showtime\/MTV Entertainment Studios \u2014 effectively making him the replacement for Paramount\u2019s now-ousted Chris McCarthy. The new combined TV operations are called Paramount Television Studios, a revival of the original Paramount TV arm that shuttered in 2024.<\/p>\n

\n\tSee below for Thunell\u2019s memo to staff announcing the leadership changes.<\/p>\n

\n\tTeam,<\/p>\n

\n\tOver the last few months, we\u2019ve brought together teams from Skydance, MTV Entertainment Studios, Showtime, Awesomeness, and Nickelodeon into one studio focused on making world-class television series. As we move forward in this new incarnation of Paramount Television Studios, we must make changes to position our business for growth and\u202fsuccess. To do that, we\u2019re evolving our organization to better serve creators, audiences, and partners around the world through\u202fa new, streamlined structure.\u202f<\/p>\n

\n\tOur studio has an enviable roster of senior executive talent, and after spending time with everyone, I\u2019ve made key leadership decisions to ensure we achieve our ambitious goals. But this means we must also say goodbye to colleagues we deeply admire and respect. In the spirit of transparency, I want to share the following updates on our new leadership structure:<\/p>\n

\n\tProduction<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00b7 Drew Brown, currently EVP, Physical Production for Skydance, will be the new PTVS Head of Production, reporting to me. Drew is a seasoned executive who has been instrumental in some of Skydance\u2019s biggest shows including Reacher for Prime Video. Prior to Skydance, he led Production at AMC Studios, where he was a driving force on series including The Walking Dead.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00b7 With this change, Keri Flint, EVP and Head of Global Production for MTVE\/Showtime, will be stepping down. Keri has been with the company for more than two decades, and\u202fin that time, she has been an incredibly valued member of our team. Her credits and accomplishments are too numerous to count; we thank her for her lasting impact.<\/p>\n

\n\tCreative<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00b7 Shelley Zimmerman\u202fand Carolyn Harris\u202fwill continue in their roles as EVP, Head of Development and EVP, Head of Current, respectively, and will continue to report to me.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00b7 Keith Cox, currently President of MTVE Studios & Showtime and a champion of Yellowstone\u202fsince day one, will continue to oversee our expansive lineup of shows from the Taylorverse and will report to me.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorporate Functions<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00b7 COO Courtney Armstrong, CFO Mark Badagliacca,\u202fEVP Human Resources Talia Robinson,\u202fand EVP Global Communications & Media Relations Brooke Robertson are expanding their respective purviews to encompass PTVS, in addition to their current roles at Paramount Pictures. A key strategic initiative for our studio is deeper partnership and collaboration with our Features colleagues. Placing these leaders across the entire studio is an important first step in achieving this goal.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00b7 Dawn Lach, SVP, Global Communications & Publicity, will transition from Skydance TV to PTVS, reporting to Brooke.<\/p>\n

\n\tBusiness Affairs & Legal Affairs<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00b7 Moving forward, Business Affairs and Legal Affairs will operate as two distinct groups. Our Head of Business Affairs will be Virginia Lazalde McPherson, who previously served as EVP, Business Affairs at Showtime, and was Global Head of Business\u202fAffairs at YouTube Originals prior to that. Bringing a wealth of experience and top-notch relationships, I\u2019m excited to partner with Virginia in this new role.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00b7 Lance McPherson\u202fwill transition from his role as EVP, Deputy General Counsel and Head of Business & Legal Affairs to EVP, Legal Affairs. He will oversee all legal efforts for our studio going forward.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00b7 Jeff Hegedus\u202fis stepping down from his role as EVP, TV Business & Legal Affairs for Skydance. Jeff is known as a selfless mentor and a steadfast colleague. I thank him for his leadership and dedication during long tenure at Skydance.<\/p>\n

\n\tFinance<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00b7 Mel Rauch\u202fwill be joining the team as Head of Finance. Previously, Mel was at Netflix, where she served as VP of EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) Content Finance & Strategy. I worked closely with Mel at Netflix for many years, where she was beloved as a creative problem solver and trusted business partner.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00b7 Reporting into Mel will be Arturo Reyes, who will transition from his current role as EVP and Global Head of Production Finance at Skydance into his new role as Head of Production Finance for PTVS.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00b7 Candice Brancazio, CFO, Paramount Media Networks, Showtime & MTVE, and Matt Hengemuhle, SVP, FP&A, will be exiting their respective roles, with Matt taking on a new remit in our Direct to Consumer business. We\u2019re grateful for their leadership and contributions and we will be announcing a new FP&A lead for our studio soon.<\/p>\n

\n\tTalent & Casting<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00b7 Trevor Rose\u202fwill depart from his role as EVP, Head of Global Talent and Content Development for Showtime\/MTVE and is moving to a leadership role in our TV Media group. With this, Tricia Wood\u202fwill be expanding her role as EVP, Casting for Paramount Pictures to also oversee casting for PTVS. We believe this structure will encourage on-screen talent to work more seamlessly across our Features and Television Series.<\/p>\n

\n\tNickelodeon Live-Action and Awesomeness<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00b7 Shauna Phelan, EVP, Head of Live Action Series, Films & Talent, Nickelodeon and Awesomeness TV will be stepping down. Shauna has been a longtime leader of the Nickelodeon and Awesomeness teams and has been pivotal in shaping those brands. Thankfully, Shauna is not going far, as we are in discussions with her about working with us as a producer on some of our most important titles. Going forward, we remain committed to creating high-quality content for kids, teens and families \u2014 building on our incredible IP, championing new ideas, and operating as one unified team.<\/p>\n

\n\tI know these are a lot of changes, but I am confident this new structure will strengthen collaboration, streamline decision-making, and super-charge our growth. In the coming weeks, we will continue the integration process, spending time on creative and business strategy under our new leadership team \u2014more on that work soon.\u202f<\/p>\n

\n\tFinally, I want to take a moment to thank our colleagues who are transitioning out of their roles. They have each contributed enormously to our organization, and we are grateful for their leadership, partnership, and many achievements. Please join\u202fme in wishing them the very best.<\/p>\n

\n\tThank you, as always, for your passion, resilience, and commitment. I cannot wait for all that we will accomplish together.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith gratitude,<\/p>\n

\n\tMatt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Paramount TV Studios is reorganizing its leadership team amid the mass layoffs at Paramount following its merger with…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":343644,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,15329,74457,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-343643","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-paramount","10":"tag-paramount-tv-studios","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115464351654191073","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}