Amazon MGM Studios has appointed Peter Friedlander as its new Head of Global Television, succeeding Vernon Sanders. Friedlander, who recently left Netflix after a 14-year tenure, will officially begin his role on October 6.
Peter Friedlander will oversee Amazon MGM Studios’ original TV portfolio in the U.S., as well as global tentpole titles, in addition to MGM Television and MGM Alternative.
Peter Friedlander left Netflix last month, where he had most recently served as Head of U.S. and Canada Scripted Series. He joined the streamer in 2011 as the first dedicated employee on its original series team.
During his tenure, Peter Friedlander shepherded major global hits, including Wednesday (which he will now oversee on the production side as it comes from MGM Television), Bridgerton, Monster, Ozark, Emily in Paris, The Queen’s Gambit, Stranger Things, The Night Agent, 3 Body Problem, and Black Mirror. He also worked on the streamer’s first scripted successes, such as House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black.
The appointment was confirmed in a memo to staff from Mike Hopkins, Head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios.
Team,
Please join me in welcoming Peter Friedlander, who joins Amazon MGM Studios as our new head of global TV. In this role, Peter will oversee our original TV portfolio in the US, in addition to our global tentpole titles, MGM Television and MGM Alternative. Peter joins us from Netflix, where he led their scripted series division for the past 4+ years, having joined that company initially in 2011. His resume at Netflix speaks for itself, as his tenure brought global audiences shows like Wednesday, Bridgerton, Monster, Ozark, Emily in Paris, The Queen’s Gambit, Stranger Things, The Night Agent, 3 Body Problem, Black Mirror and more. He joined Netflix as the first dedicated original series employee, helping to shepherd their first generation of shows, including House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black, among others.
Prior to Netflix, Peter was an executive at Tom Hanks’ and Gary Goetzman’s Playtone, where he produced the Emmy-nominated drama series Big Love and served as a creative executive on many of the company’s feature films. Peter began his career working on film sets, including Road To Perdition and Austin Powers In Goldmember.
I can’t wait for Peter to ramp up and meet all the teams, and I know he’s equally ready to get started on Day 1, which will be Monday, October 6. Please join me in congratulating Peter on his new role and in welcoming him to Amazon.
-Mike
