CBS has a brand new leisure president.
Former head of present Amy Reisenbach has been tapped to switch Kelly Kahl atop the published community. As a part of the adjustments on the broadcast community, senior vp programming Thom Sherman — who many anticipated to take over for Kahl and run CBS — is stepping down from his function and has signed a large producing cope with the community’s studio counterpart, CBS Studios.
The adjustments come as a part of what CBS CEO George Cheeks described as a part of a “restructuring and streamlining of leadership” at CBS Entertainment. The govt adjustments will go into impact in January, when Kahl’s 26-year CBS tenure concludes. Cheeks and Sherman each addressed the adjustments by way of inside memos to employees (learn each, beneath).
Reisenbach — a member of THR’s Next Gen class of 2014 — joined CBS in 2005 as a supervisor within the present programming division. In her most up-to-date function, Reisenbach reported to each CBS Studios president David Stapf in addition to to Sherman. She involves the leisure president gig with expertise in daytime, sport exhibits in addition to scripted. She beforehand served as senior vp present from late 2015 to June 2017 and oversaw all scripted sequence for CBS Studios for The CW whereas additionally steering a number of of the studio’s exhibits for CBS. Like Kahl earlier than her, she beforehand had roles at Warner Bros. Television, working within the drama and present departments on the studio that together with CBS Studios, previously co-owned The CW.
All instructed, that is probably the most notable restructuring at CBS since Cheeks joined the corporate from NBC following the Les Moonves scandal. The determination to half methods with Kahl comes a month after David Nevins introduced he could be leaving CBS dad or mum Paramount Global at 12 months’s finish following a 12-year run through which he oversaw Showtime and different divisions on the re-merged ViacomCBS. With Nevins’ shock departure, Paramount divided his tasks to between Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Tom Ryan. McCarthy, who already oversaw linear networks together with MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount Network, added duty for Showtime. Cheeks added Paramount TV Studios and BET to his purview, and streaming chief Ryan added Showtime’s streaming operations.
For his half, Sherman was promoted from his function beneath The CW’s Mark Pedowitz in 2017 when he was introduced in to CBS to work alongside Kahl and provides the scheduling exec help on the inventive facet. He’s helped ship sequence together with the FBI franchise and comedies like final season’s breakout, Ghosts. During his time at The CW, he helped launch the Arrow-verse, The Vampire Diaries and the unique Gossip Girl, amongst others.
In yet one more signal of how little broadcast networks matter to their dad or mum firms within the streaming period, Kahl turns into the third community chief to depart this 12 months. The CW CEO Mark Pedowitz, who had been broadcast’s longest-tenured topper, was pushed out earlier this 12 months after the community was offered to station group Nexstar; and Fox CEO Charlie Collier shocked his colleagues together with his transfer to run originals at Roku.
Here’s Sherman’s memo:
Team,
This morning’s news was a shock, and I do know you’re all as saddened by it as I’m. Kelly is the brother I by no means had, my good friend, and the perfect work-partner I might ever have imagined. I’m past grateful for his resolute management, steering, collaboration, and humor, and it’s exhausting to fathom that he and I gained’t be doing this collectively anymore.
And, alas, I too can be transferring on to a brand new part of my profession subsequent 12 months.
It has been my distinct privilege to have labored with all of you these previous 5 1/2 years. You are a exceptional group of immensely gifted folks, the perfect within the enterprise at what you do, and I’m extraordinarily honored to have stood with you as season-after-season collectively we programmed America’s #1 Network.
Look at just some of the various issues we achieved:
–We put collectively a slate of exhibits that’s the envy of the Business with the #1 new drama on Broadcast 5 years working, and this 12 months the highest 3 new exhibits. We additionally launched the #1 new comedy 4 straight seasons, and now final 12 months’s #1 hit, “Ghosts,” is preventing it out with considered one of our different nice hits, “Young Sheldon,” for the #1 OVERALL Broadcast comedy slot. Powerful.
–CBS is now acknowledged for its variety in entrance of, and behind, the digital camera; an unbelievable turnaround of which we should always all be very proud.
–We labored exhausting to vary the tradition inside CBS to be extra inclusive, welcoming, heat, enjoyable, and (comparatively!) stress-free. Tremendous progress achieved.
But extra importantly than the above successes we shared, your abilities are solely outweighed by your KINDNESS. I’m blessed to have labored with all of you actually tremendous exceptionally terribly NICE and CARING folks. I thanks all for serving to create an inspiring and nurturing atmosphere and for the dedication and brilliance with which you all do your jobs. I’ll carry you all in my coronary heart as we proceed our journeys, and I stay up for furthering our friendships.
Now go throw a Thom’s Tear up on the board.
And play effectively.
Thom
And right here’s the one from Cheeks relating to Sherman:
At the identical time, I’m pleased to share that Thom will stay linked to CBS. We are getting into into an total producing deal spanning CBS Entertainment and CBS Studios with Thom persevering with to develop and produce programming for the Network and different elements of Paramount Global. Thom’s inventive instincts about what sorts of exhibits CBS viewers love are clear to all of us. I’m glad that we’ll proceed to attract upon these instincts and his programming abilities in each a producing and advisory capability.
Thom has been a extremely revered inventive govt at CBS, The CW and as President of J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot manufacturing firm. His relationships, skillsets and expertise supply nice worth as a producer on this new capability.
Please be a part of me in thanking Thom for all his contributions to the Network and wishing him effectively in his new CBS function.
George
