Amazon MGM Studios is reconfiguring its scripted television arm after Peter Friedlander, its new Head of Global Television, announced an immediate shift from a Wholly Owned/Co-Productions split to a genre-led structure. The move, announced in an internal memo, installs Blair Fetter as Head of Worldbuilding & Genre Series starting February 2, 2026, and starts a leadership realignment that includes departures for two senior executives. Laura Lancaster (Head of US SVOD TV Development & Series – Co-Productions) and Nick Pepper (Head of US SVOD TV Development & Series – Wholly Owned) are leaving the studio and are reportedly in talks for producing deals. Friedlander says the change is intended to speed decision-making and sharpen creative ownership across drama & comedy, worldbuilding, animation, and unscripted.
- Blair Fetter will join Amazon MGM Studios as Head of Worldbuilding & Genre Series on , reporting to Peter Friedlander.
- Laura Lancaster and Nick Pepper are transitioning out of their roles; both joined Amazon in 2021 and were elevated to their 2022 titles during a prior scripted-team restructure.
- The studio is shifting from a Wholly Owned vs. Co-Productions split to four genre divisions: drama & comedy, worldbuilding, animation, and unscripted; each division will report directly to Friedlander.
- The reorg affects both development and existing series oversight, with Tom Lieber and Matt King moving to report to Fetter on worldbuilding series.
- Amazon’s acquisition of MGM for $8.5 billion and the handling of that IP—led by Pepper since 2021—helped produce greenlights including Elle (Legally Blonde prequel), Tomb Raider, and Carrie.
- Melissa Wolfe remains Head of Animation and Jenn Levy continues as Head of Unscripted & Documentary Television, both reporting directly to Friedlander.
- The change follows a period of multiple organizational redraws at Amazon MGM that had left producers and agents uncertain about points of contact for pitches.
Background
Amazon acquired MGM for $8.5 billion, a purchase that brought a century of studio IP under Prime Video’s control and triggered repeated reorganizations as the combined entity sought an effective development model. Since 2021 Amazon MGM’s scripted group has been restructured multiple times; in 2022 the company set a split between Wholly Owned and Co-Productions teams, a division that has guided commissioning and rights decisions across the studio’s slate. Executives and outside producers have told industry outlets that these shifting lines sometimes created confusion about who to approach for specific projects, particularly for IP-driven, franchise-style series.
Peter Friedlander, previously head of UCAN Scripted Series at Netflix, joined Amazon MGM Studios roughly four months before the announcement and spent his initial months meeting with internal and external creatives as he evaluated the studio’s development pipeline. Friedlander’s experience at Netflix informed the new structure’s resemblance to that streamer’s genre-focused approach; he has now installed leaders and realigned reporting to centralize genre expertise under discrete heads for faster, clearer decision-making.
Main Event
The immediate operational change replaces the Wholly Owned versus Co-Productions binary with four genre-focused groups: drama & comedy, worldbuilding, animation, and unscripted. Each group will combine development and current-series responsibilities and report directly to Friedlander. As part of the transition, Blair Fetter, a former Netflix executive who oversaw Spectacle Series, will lead Worldbuilding & Genre Series; Tom Lieber and Matt King—previously on Lancaster’s and Pepper’s teams—will report to him and continue work on large-scale franchise projects.
Laura Lancaster and Nick Pepper, two of the most senior scripted executives under previous TV head Vernon Sanders, are leaving the organization. Company communications say both are in discussions for producing deals with Amazon MGM; the memo noted their contributions to titles that include The Summer I Turned Pretty, Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, Fallout, Reacher, and animation projects such as Secret Level and Hazbin Hotel. Lancaster ran oversight for several ongoing series while Pepper led exploration of MGM’s library for television adaptations after the acquisition.
Other senior leaders were reassigned to report to Friedlander. Melissa Wolfe (Animation) and Jenn Levy (Unscripted & Documentary) will report directly to him, as will Lauren O’Connor (Head of Global IP) and Lindsay Sloane (Head of MGM Television, Scripted Series). Kara Smith, Michael McDonald, and Jen Chambers will work across drama, comedy, and young adult programming reporting to Friedlander on an interim basis until a Head of Drama & Comedy is named.
Friedlander’s memo framed the restructuring as an efficiency and creative-quality playbook: consolidating expertise by genre is intended to speed approvals and deliver sharper creative decisions for ambitious, IP-driven series. A town hall to present the new structure was scheduled for later in the week following the memo, and industry reaction ranged from cautious optimism about clearer contact points to concern over short-term disruption as reporting lines change.
Analysis & Implications
The genre-led approach reflects a growing industry pattern where streamers organize around storytelling modes and franchise-building capacity rather than ownership model. For a studio managing a large film-and-television IP library like MGM’s, centralizing worldbuilding under one leader can streamline multi-season arcs and cross-platform strategies—and potentially accelerate greenlight-to-production timelines. Blair Fetter’s appointment signals Amazon MGM’s intent to prioritize creators with experience managing large fictional universes and spectacle-driven series.
That said, any reorganization carries commercial and cultural risks. Executive departures reduce institutional memory; Lancaster and Pepper oversaw key relationships with outside production companies and talent that took years to cultivate. If those ties fray during contract negotiations or if producing-deal terms diverge from the studio’s expectations, development timelines for several high-profile adaptations could slow. Conversely, clearer ownership might reduce friction for creators and agents who previously reported uncertainty about the right development contact.
Strategically, the shift also sheds light on how Amazon intends to exploit MGM IP post-acquisition. Pepper’s prior work to mine the MGM library generated multiple greenlights—Elle, Tomb Raider and Carrie among them—and bringing Global IP to report directly to Friedlander centralizes creative and commercial decisions around those properties. International originals, still under Nicole Clemens and reporting through Kelly Day to Mike Hopkins, indicate a two-track model: global and franchise-building efforts will be coordinated but remain distinct in some operational lines.
From a market standpoint, this move could make Amazon MGM more agile versus legacy studio competitors that maintain more segmented development teams. If the reorg reduces lead times and improves greenlight success rates, Amazon could accelerate serialized adaptations and franchise builds that increase subscriber engagement. However, short-term churn among senior executives and the need to reestablish producer relationships will be a key operational metric to watch over the next 6–12 months.
| Prior Structure | New Structure |
|---|---|
| Wholly Owned vs. Co-Productions split (development lines divided by ownership) | Four genre divisions: Drama & Comedy; Worldbuilding & Genre Series; Animation; Unscripted |
| Development and current series managed separately within ownership lines | Development and current series consolidated within each genre lead |
| Top scripted roles included Laura Lancaster and Nick Pepper (named 2022) | Blair Fetter joins as Head of Worldbuilding; Head of Drama & Comedy to be named |
The table shows the operational pivot: where the prior organization split responsibilities by ownership model, the new model groups people and projects by creative mode. This is intended to reduce ambiguity about who oversees franchise-scale storytelling versus standalone series, and to align expertise (for example, worldbuilding) under a single leader to manage cross-series continuity and licensing decisions.
“We are transitioning … to a streamlined, genre-based organization,”
Peter Friedlander (internal memo)
“Nick and Laura have been invaluable builders of our scripted series slate,”
Peter Friedlander (internal memo)
“Producers have often been unsure whom to pitch; this should clarify contact points,”
Industry executives (on background)
Unconfirmed
- Specific terms and timing of the producing deals reportedly being discussed with Laura Lancaster and Nick Pepper have not been publicly disclosed and remain unconfirmed.
- Reports that Blair Fetter met with other companies prior to joining Amazon MGM are based on source accounts and have not been independently verified.
- The operational impact on particular series production schedules (including any delays or accelerations) has not been independently confirmed by the studio beyond the memo.
Bottom Line
Amazon MGM Studios’ restructuring under Peter Friedlander is a clear strategic bet: group by genre to sharpen creative oversight and speed decisions for franchise-scale storytelling. Appointing a dedicated worldbuilding lead reflects the studio’s priority on IP-driven series that require sustained, centralized creative stewardship. Short-term disruption is likely as senior relationships are renegotiated and reporting lines change; the next six months will be telling for whether the reorg improves greenlight velocity and producer clarity.
For industry observers and creators, the most important metrics to watch are the speed of approvals for high-profile IP projects, retention of key production partners, and whether a named Head of Drama & Comedy emerges with the authority to shepherd major commissions. If Friedlander’s team can marry genre expertise with the studio’s extensive IP, Amazon MGM could produce a steadier, more coherent slate—but execution will determine whether the promise of this reorganization is realized.
- Deadline (Entertainment news, original report and memo excerpts)