Paramount Television Studios Hires Kim Rozenfeld as Senior VP of Current Television

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Jo Ann Ross, the TV industry’s first female ad-sales chief, will take a new chairman role at Paramount Global, while John Halley will take on the position of president, overseeing U.S. sales — a major transition at the media company that aims to merge Ross’ close contact with clients with Halley’s expertise in new forms of digital advertising. Halley will report directly to Paramount Global’s CEO, Bob Bakish, while Ross will “provide her expertise and experience in a strategic advisory role to ensure a smooth transition,” the company said in a statement. Ross has been a trailblazer in the TV industry, taking over ad sales for the former CBS Corp. after the departure of Joe Abruzzese in 2002, when he exited to join Discovery Communications. Since that time, Ross has formed one of the most durable ad-sales teams in TV, with executives like Chris Simon, John Bogusz, Linda Rene and Joe Mina staying with her for years. That team is expected to stay at the company at present, according to a person familiar with the matter.

EXCLUSIVE: Kim Harrison, executive producer and co-showrunner of The Crossover, has signed an overall deal with 20th Television, the studio behind the upcoming basketball drama series for Disney+.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Kim Kelleher added oversight of distribution revenue to her portfolio at AMC Networks, a substantial enlargement of her duties at the content company that was recently put under the aegis of a new CEO. Kelleher, who will continue to supervise advertising sales and partnerships, has been named chief commercial officer of the company, best known for its flagship cable network and influential series like “Better Call Saul” and “The Walking Dead.” “A cohesive, forward-looking commercial revenue team that has responsibility for all of our valuable partner relationships across advertisers, affiliates and new digital platforms makes strong strategic sense and Kim is the perfect executive to lead it,” said Christina Spade, who was recently named CEO of AMC Networks, in a statement. “She has brought her own unique talent, ingenuity and dynamic leadership to our commercial revenue group. We are thrilled to apply her abilities to an even more comprehensive role to drive the company’s top-line growth.” Kelleher will report to Spade.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.” Betty Gilpin is in the desert. She’s there filming “Mrs. Davis,” Damon Lindelof and Tara Hernandez’s Peacock drama series, but doesn’t give a specific location — “We’re shooting in the middle of nowhere,” she says — because the project is still mostly under wraps.

The Dutton family is expanding with the addition of James Badge Dale (Hightown, 24), Darren Mann (Animal Kingdom, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), and Marley Shelton (Never Been Kissed, Rise) to the Paramount+ spinoff .

Paramount Pictures has unveiled the first stills from Babylon, the latest feature from Oscar winner Damien Chazelle (La La Land), which hits theaters in limited release on Christmas Day, going wide on January 6th.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic When Mary McCartney was approached by producer John Battsek (“Searching for Sugar Man,” “One Day in September”) to make a film about the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London, she didn’t immediately leap at the chance, the way almost any other photographer interested in making the leap into documentary filmmaking might have. It’s not difficult to guess at the reason she might have balked at, and then succumbed to, the idea of making “If These Walls Could Sing,” which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival over the weekend and has been picked up for airing on Disney+. “I think because of my surname, I get a little bit oversensitive,” says the daughter of Paul McCartney, sitting at a sidewalk-adjacent table in Telluride. “I used to sort of shy away from anything to do with my family, wanting with my photography to be making a name for myself in my own area. I mean, I’ve always been really proud of my family, but then recently I’ve realized (I should) actually not shy away from it because I feel like I’m being judged. …. Before, I was like, my family’s my family and my career’s my career, and now I’m at the point where I’m confident enough to merge the two.”

Neil Jordan’s ‘Marlowe’: Liam Neeson And Diane Kruger Feature To Debut At San Sebastian

“The Summer I Turned Pretty” has expanded its cast for Season 2, adding Kyra Sedgwick and Elsie Fisher.The two join the Prime Video show in recurring roles, however no details were made available about their characters. Season 2 is currently in production.Based on the book of the same name by author Jenny Han, Season 1 of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” debuted on the streaming service earlier this year, going on to become the No.

Amazon’s The Summer I Turned Pretty adds Kyra Sedgwick and Elsie Fisher to its Season 2 cast in recurring roles. Details regarding their characters are under wraps.

Manori Ravindran International Editor Georgia Brown, head of Amazon Studios in Europe, is stepping down after five years in the role, Variety can reveal. The executive’s last day at the business is Wednesday (Aug. 31), though her departure is understood to have been in the works for some time. Brown is believed to be moving on to another opportunity, though it’s not yet clear what or where her new role will be. Brown has been a strong and prominent ambassador for Amazon Studios in Europe, and was the first executive hired to lead originals for the continent. In the 2016 to 2018 period, when a number of the global streaming services were first setting up shop internationally and kept their executives largely out of view, Brown was always front and center for Amazon, keen to discuss her local-first strategy.

Amazon Studios Europe’s content chief Georgia Brown is leaving the streamer after five years in the role.

EXCLUSIVE: Shout! Studios has acquired all North American distribution rights to the neo-Western thriller Head Count, from Continuance Pictures and Method Media. Filmmakers Jacob and Ben Burghart — together known as The Burghart Brothers — are directing in their feature debut, from their script written with Josh Doke, with Aaron Jakubenko (Tidelands), Melanie Zanetti (Raven’s Hollow) and Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) set to star. Shout! Studios and the filmmakers are planning a strategic launch of the movie next year, beginning with major film festivals and film markets in 2023.

EXCLUSIVE: Saturday Night Live star Bobby Moynihan is set to join the ensemble cast of Paramount Pictures’ IF, the next original film from John Krasinski. Ryan Reynolds, Krasinski, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Cailey Fleming, Louis Gossett Jr., Fiona Shaw, Alan S. Kim, and Steve Carell are all on board.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Paramount filed a motion on Friday to dismiss a lawsuit that claims that “Top Gun: Maverick” infringes on the copyright of the 1983 magazine article that was the source material for the original film. Shosh and Yuval Yonay, the widow and son of writer Ehud Yonay, filed the suit in June, arguing that the studio made the sequel without first renewing the rights to the article. In the motion to dismiss, Paramount argued that it did not need to obtain the rights, because “Top Gun: Maverick” is a work of fiction that has almost nothing in common with the non-fiction article and that the facts and ideas conveyed in the article cannot be copyrighted.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Talks between the Motion Picture Association and the Hollywood labor unions have failed to produce an agreement on a new law that would address firearm safety on movie sets. The two sides backed competing proposals earlier this year in Sacramento in response to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in New Mexico last October. Both bills would have established a training standard for film armorers — a job that is currently almost entirely unregulated. The union proposal would have been more sweeping, however, establishing the role of a “set safety supervisor” who would have the power to shut down productions. Both bills stalled in the legislature in May, but the two sides continued to talk in hopes of reaching an agreement before the Aug. 31 legislative deadline.

To the moon, Alice. No, Ralph Kramden isn’t involved, but that’s where NASA is headed, as it prepares its long-awaited launch of Artemis 1. That’s the renewable vehicles program that is the great hope for sending future manned missions back to the moon and potentially Mars.

Paramount Television Studios has hired Kim Rozenfeld as senior vice president, current television, the company announced Thursday. In his new role, Rozenfeld will oversee scripted projects for both the television studio and for Paramount+.

Former top current executive at Apple TV+ and Sony Pictures Television Kim Rozenfeld has been tapped as SVP Current Television for Paramount Television Studios. He will oversee scripted projects for both the television studio and for Paramount +, reporting to Cheryl Bosnak, EVP and Head of Current for Paramount Television Studios and Paramount+.