The new TV boss of Amazon MGM Studios is revamping the division’s leadership structure around four specialized genres. 

Peter Friedlander (who took over as the studio’s head of global TV in October after Vernon Sanders exited) laid out his reorg in a staff memo. Dedicated executives will now oversee four broad genre areas—animation, world-building, unscripted and drama/comedy—all reporting directly to Friedlander. The goal is to help the TV teams move faster and make “sharper creative decisions,” according to the memo. 

It’s a notable shift away from the previous system in which TV operations were split up between two divisions: wholly owned series and co-pros. Laura Lancaster (The Summer I Turned Pretty) and Nick Pepper (Elle), who oversaw them, are leaving the company. Amazon MGM Studios’ new structure also consolidates the development and current programming teams for each of the four genres—something that Friedlander says will lead to more clarity in project ownership. 

Melissa Wolfe will continue in her role as animation boss. Wolfe has been with the company for 13 years, starting out with a focus on kids programming and then expanding her remit to include oversight of all animation. Her recent projects include The Jim Henson Company’s newly greenlit Lore Olympus webtoon adaptation and 2024 animated series Angry Birds Mystery Island.

To head up the world-building and genre series team, Friedlander is bringing in Netflix alum Blair Fetter, who starts next week. It’s interesting that Amazon MGM is choosing to treat this as a core genre in its new structure, signaling a potential focus on youth-skewing content—think vast, immersive settings filled with characters and the kind of fleshed-out lore that attracts fandoms and consumer products partners. (Fetter was involved in shows like Stranger Things, Wednesday and Avatar: The Last Airbender during his tenure at Netflix.)

Meanwhile, Jenn Levy will lead the unscripted team (as previously announced), while the search continues for a permanent exec to spearhead the drama/comedy team. In the interim, Friedlander has set up Kara Smith, Michael McDonald and Jen Chambers to keep these lights on.

Featured image (L-R): Angry Birds Mystery Island, Elle and Lore Olympus.