Oliver Jones is set to exit Apple TV after six years and join Amazon MGM Studios as senior commissioner for U.K. scripted.
The studio’s vice president & head of international originals, Nicole Clemens, told her team about Jones’ appointment in an email on Monday. He’ll be working closely with Clemens on the commissioning of new U.K. scripted shows starting in May, and will relocate from L.A. back to London for the role. Commissioners Gemma Brandler and Punit Mattoo will report to Jones.
“It has been a privilege to work alongside my brilliant colleagues at Apple TV for the past six years, and to collaborate with the remarkable artists I was lucky enough to work with,” said Jones, whose credits as senior creative executive for international scripted television at the streamer include the Kurt Russell-starring Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks’ Masters of the Air with Austin Butler, Israeli spy series Tehran with Hugh Laurie, and Alfonso Cuarón’s Disclaimer with Cate Blanchett.
“It’s always a tough decision to leave a job I love, but the time is right to come back home and start a new adventure. Amazon MGM Studios’ commitment and momentum in telling ambitious, provocative, premium stories, together with the scale of their increased investment in the U.K., means it couldn’t be a more exciting moment to be joining Nicole and her phenomenal team.”
In Clemens’ email, she lauds the “incredible success” of the U.K.’s scripted slate at Amazon, including Robin Wright’s The Girlfriend, the Sophie Turner-led Steal as well as Harlan Coben’s Lazarus and Bait with Riz Ahmed.
“We’ve launched fan favorite and genre-defying series that have delighted customers not just in the U.K., but globally,” she wrote. “We also recently announced the greenlights for original police thriller Dirty from Matt Charman and an adaptation of Chloe Walsh’s BookTok Sensation Boys Of Tommen, and there’s much, much more to come.”
“With our huge commitment to the U.K., I’m delighted to inform you today that Oliver Jones will be joining us as Senior Commissioner for U.K. Scripted,” she continued. “Oliver is a seasoned scripted executive with a proven track record in developing premium international content.”
The appointment, she adds, “underscores our continued investment in world-class U.K. scripted programming as we expand our slate for U.K. and global audiences.”
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