Common Studio Group goes down from 4 to a few divisions as Pearlena Igbokwe, Chairman, Tv Studios, NBC Leisure & Peacock Scripted, is continuing with the lengthy rumored consolidation of UCP and Common Worldwide Studios.
The mixed entity, named Common World Tv, can be run by Beatrice Springborn who served as President of each UCP and Common Worldwide Studios. She is going to now be President of UGT alongside UTV President Erin Underhill and Common Tv Different Studio President Toby Gorman.
Excessive-profile departures stemming from the studio restructuring embrace UCP’s EVP Jennifer Gwartz and SVP Marc Velez — each growth executives — in addition to EVP Casting and Expertise Growth Steven O’Neill.
Six positions are being eradicated because of the UCP-UIS merger. The workers reductions are a part of a broader spherical of layoffs at NBCUniversal‘s TV operations associated to realignment within the wake of the January spinoff of the majority of the corporate’s cable networks into Versant. Total, 22 jobs have been impacted throughout USG (UTV, UCP, UIS and UTAS), NBC and Peacock.
All current UCP and UIS total and first-look offers will transition to UGT for a mixed expertise roster that features Seth MacFarlane, Patrick Macmanus, Nick Antosca, Rachel Shukert, and Sue Naegle. UGT will now even be mother or father firm of British manufacturing firms Carnival Movies and Working Title Tv, beforehand divisions of UIS, and can assume UIS’ co-venture place in Heyday Tv.
Whereas a broader consolidation of USG’s scripted operations, extra particularly Common Tv and UCP, additionally had been rumored, there are not any present plans to go all the way in which.
The UCP-UIS combo may very well be step one, much like Disney’s transfer to merge twentieth Tv and Touchstone Tv (fka Fox21) in 2000. It took 5 extra years to get to the ultimate stage within the consolidation course of, with ABC Signature folded into twentieth TV final yr. It was preceded by combining a number of features, together with casting in 2024.
UGT Government Crew
Casting is one space that’s being consolidated throughout UGT and Common Tv within the present restructuring beneath Kimberly Hope, EVP and Head of Casting and Expertise for UTV, as O’Neill exits.
In programming, Springborn has pulled from each side of the aisle in assembling her built-in senior government workforce.
Kelsey Stability, UIS’ EVP of World Sequence, will now serve in the identical capability and lead growth for UGT. Working beneath Stability on the mixed entity can be her present lieutenant at UIS, SVP of World Scripted Sequence Margaret Schatzel, and Amy Suh, SVP Growth for UCP, whereas UCP’s Gwartz and Velez are leaving.
Rebecca Franko, EVP and Head of Present Sequence for UCP, may have the identical position throughout UMG. (UIS didn’t have a present division, with executives dealing with each growth and present collection.)
Equally, UCP’s EVP Manufacturing Mark Binke will oversee manufacturing for UGT. (UIS had been utilizing a advisor for the position.)
UIS EVP and former CFO Rob Howard is main day-to-day operations within the UK, which can stay a primary manufacturing hub for the mixed entity. No modifications are deliberate for the studio’s London outpost, which has been preserving issues imply, sources stated.
Jennifer Gwartz, Steven O’Neill and Marc Velez
NBCU
Gwartz is anticipated to return to her producing roots. She joined UCP as EVP in 2021, reporting to Springborn. Earlier than that, she was EVP, Growth at twentieth Tv. Whereas at UCP, Gwartz has developed 5 Star Weekend, Satan in Disguise and Summer time Sisters, nonetheless within the works, amongst others. Beforehand, Gwartz was Head of TV for Lin Photos and Joel Silver and a drama growth government at ABC Leisure.
Velez joined UCP in 2022 as SVP and Head of Growth, reporting to Gwartz. Earlier than that, he spent virtually six years as president of Lee Daniels Leisure the place he developed and government produced ABC’s The Marvel Years, Fox’s Our Sort of Folks and BET’s The Ms. Pat Present.
O’Neill has been at UCP since its inception in 2008, managing all elements of the casting course of for the studio’s lineup, together with All Her Fault, Cape Worry, 5-Star Weekend, Satan in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy, Murdaugh: Loss of life within the Household and The ‘Burbs. Beforehand, O’Neill served as EVP of Casting and Expertise Growth for NBCUniversal Cable Leisure and SVP of Casting at Common Tv and NBC. His credit embrace the unique Fits, Royal Pains, Mr. Robotic, The Workplace, and ER.
Merging the slates
Bringing UCP and UIS collectively is a pure development because the delineations between the 2 models’ lanes have began to blur, with the fluidity between their slates creating some confusion. UCP’s mandate had been producing streaming collection planted within the US market that may be distributed internationally whereas UIS had been tasked with making exhibits designed for the worldwide market.
Nonetheless, hit Peacock restricted collection All Her Fault, set in Chicago and that includes a predominantly American solid besides lead Sarah Snook, comes from UIS through its subsidiary Carnival Movies. In the meantime, The Rachel Incident, an Irish story filmed in Eire by an Irish manufacturing firm for the British Channel 4, is from UCP. And UCP’s newest collection for Apple TV, Cape Worry, has emerged as a powerful worldwide performer, drawing larger numbers abroad.
Now the 2 slates, which have already got a variety of crossover, are being aligned along with an eye fixed towards the worldwide market.
And indicating that this can be a merger of equals vs. one entity absorbing the opposite as was the case with twentieth TV and Touchstone TV after which ABC Signature, the mixed studio is getting a brand new identify, UGT, as an alternative of preserving the identify of one of many merging models. (The brand new moniker does sound a bit just like the title of one in every of NBC’s largest actuality franchises, AGT. Common’s Acquired Expertise, anybody?)
Along with All Her Fault, which logged the most-watched authentic collection launch in Peacock’s historical past, together with robust debuts within the UK, Canada and Australia, UIS is behind such current hits as The Day of the Jackal, the most important new collection launch ever on Sky, which is returning for Season 2 on Peacock and Sky, and the Peacock restricted collection Apples By no means Fall.
UCP has Peacock’s newest breakout, The ‘Burbs, which was renewed for a second season after amassing greater than 1.7 billion viewing minutes on the platform in its first two months, and the live-action/CGI Ted, whose two seasons mixed ranked because the #1 streaming authentic comedy title within the first week of the S2 launch based mostly on minutes considered.
