Amazon MGM Studios Names New TV Head: a Former Netflix Exec

Amazon MGM Studios has found its new head of TV: an exec who spent over a decade at rival Netflix.

Peter Friedlander ran scripted TV in the US and Canada for Netflix, where he was credited with shepherding hits like “Stranger Things” and “Bridgerton.” He worked there from 2011 until this August.

Friedlander replaces Vernon Sanders, who announced his departure last week. Sanders’ old boss, fellow NBCUniversal alum Jen Salke, left earlier in the year.

Amazon MGM Studios, known for originals like “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” and “Reacher,” drives Prime Video. The service captured 3.9% of US TV watch time in August, trailing Google’s YouTube, Netflix, and Disney’s combined streamers, according to Nielsen.

Unlike streaming rivals such as Netflix and Disney+, Prime Video has built a big business by letting people easily subscribe to a wide array of streamers from HBO Max to Hallmark+ — via its “channels” program — and it’s leaning into it as it tries to become the default destination for TV watching.

Friedlander’s appointment is the last in a string of big leadership changes this year at Amazon’s entertainment unit. In addition to Salke’s exit, Jay Marine moved into a bigger role overseeing the Prime Video business while Albert Cheng, who had led that business, moved into an AI role.

Here’s the memo from Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video & Amazon MGM, on Friedlander:

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