EXCLUSIVE: Andy Weil, Netflix’s VP Comedy and the streamer’s second longest serving programming executive, is leaving to join Amazon MGM Studios as Head of Comedy. Amazon MGM Studios’ Head of Global Television Peter Friedlander just announced the hire internally in a memo, which you can see below. Weil’s first day is September 14.
The Head of Comedy search was launched a month ago by Friedlander, who was Weil’s former boss at Netflix. At the time, Friedlander tweaked his original plan for the studio’s scripted operation structure, creating three areas — Drama, Comedy and Young Adult, each reporting to him — alongside the previously established Worldbuilding & Genre Series, led by Blair Fetter, and Animation, led by Melissa Wolfe. Weil joins Amazon veteran Kara Smith, who was named Head of Drama at the time of June’s restructuring announcement. The Head of YA job remains vacant.
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Weil is the latest Friedlander hire of a senior executive he had worked with at Netflix, following the appointments of Fetter, Jenn Levy as Head of Nonfiction, and Mandy Schaffer as Head of Business Affairs. He is the first current Netflix executive to make the move; the rest had left the streamer before they were recruited by Friedlander.
A well-regarded comedy executive, Weil had been at Netflix for more than 11 years; he joined the platform’s comedy team as Director, Original Series, in June 2015 from Universal Television.
During his Netflix tenure, Weil served as the No. 2 comedy executive, first under Jane Wiseman and then Tracey Pakosta, and was promoted to VP in February 2020. He took the reins of the department on an interim basis after Wiseman’s October 2020 exit until Pakosta’s arrival a month later.
In addition to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the many Netflix comedy series Weil oversaw over the years include Master of None, BoJack Horseman, Nobody Wants This, The Four Seasons, Russian Doll, The Upshaws, The Ranch, Trigger Warning with Killer Mike, Tires, A Man on the Inside, Big Mistakes, Free Bert, Lady Dynamite, The Kominsky Method, Leanne, The Vince Staples Show, On My Block, A Different Worldand the upcoming A Hundred PercentandI Suck at Girls. He also was the executive on Netflix’s sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror.
While Prime Video has established itself in the drama and YA space with a string of global hits such as Reacher, Fallout, The Summer I Turned Pretty and Off Campus, Amazon MGM Studios’ streamer is yet to scale up in the half-hour comedy space. Its modestly sized current comedy slate include two hits in the YA arena, Overcompensating andElle, as well as the Emmy-nominated anthology Jury Duty. There is also the recent breakout hourlong comedy-drama Ride or Die, which is awaiting word on Season 2 renewal.
Team,
I’m pleased to share that Andy Weil will be joining us as Head of Comedy TV reporting to me. His first day is Monday, September 14th.
Andy comes to us from Netflix, where he spent more than 11 years leading comedy development, after previously working at Universal Television. He has deep creative instincts, strong relationships across the comedy community, and a proven track record of identifying and developing standout series such as Master of None, Nobody Wants This, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Black Mirror, Bojack Horseman, and Tires. I’m looking forward to seeing what he builds as we continue to grow our comedy footprint.
Please join me in welcoming Andy to the team.
-Peter
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