• Former Nickelodeon/Awesomeness co-head of series and films Zack Olin (pictured) has joined Disney Television Animation as SVP of development and current series to guide creative for a growing kids slate. He reports to Meredith Roberts (EVP of Disney Television Animation) and oversees kids & family programming for Disney+, according to a release. For the last four years, Olin worked at Nickelodeon as part of its tween/teen-skewing Awesomeness team, producing Monster High: The Movie and live-action series XO, Kitty and School Spirits. (He co-led the division with Shauna Phelan, who left Paramount amid last year’s layoffs.) Prior to that, he spent 13 years at ABC and ABC Studios, overseeing a slate of older-skewing shows, and he started his career on Fox’s development and current team.

• Speaking of Paramount, Shivani Patel has been brought in to lead long-term strategy and planning across its TV and film business as VP of strategy and operations. A former Universal Pictures SVP of film strategy and business development, Patel spent 11 years with the LA-based studio. At Paramount, Patel will likely be kept busy managing buzzy deals with recently signed creators like Jon M. Chu and Matt and Ross Duffer. The company also has a few kids movies on the way from big franchises, including PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie (August) and The Angry Birds 3 (December). 

Image courtesy of Disney.