Lauren Whitney Joins Spyglass Media Group As Head Of Television

Spyglass Media Group, the independent content company launched less than two weeks ago by former MGM boss Gary Barber and Lantern Entertainment, continues to build its top executive team with another key hire.

Miramax’s Lauren Whitney will be joining Spyglass as President of Television, effective April 1. Charged with overseeing television development & production, for broadcast, cable and OTT services and mining the company’s IP and library titles, Whitney will report to Spyglass CEO Chairman and CEO Barber.

Whitney comes to Spyglass after a year-long stint as President of Television for Miramax. There, she oversaw TV development, the company’s 2018 Fox drama pilot, Gone Baby Gone, as well as series Spy City, produced by Odeon and Seven Stories for Germany’s ZDF.

Miramax will be hiring a replacement for Whitney; I have heard that it may be a combined position covering both TV and film.

Prior to Miramax, Whitney was the President of Scripted Television at Legendary Entertainment. During her tenure, she oversaw such series as Lost in Space (Netflix), Colony (USA Network), Love (Netflix), Carnival Row (Amazon), and The Looming Tower starring Jeff Daniels, Tamar Rahim, and Alec Baldwin (Hulu).

Previously, Whitney was a TV agent at The William Morris Agency and later WME, where she represented writers and producers and specialized in the development of intellectual property.

“Lauren has discerning taste, stellar industry relationships, and has overseen production on a variety of compelling series across all platforms,” Barber said. “We are fortunate to have Lauren’s talents and creative leadership as we build on our television business.”

Spyglass Media Group was unveiled on March 13 as a partnership between Barber and Lantern Entertainment Co-Presidents Andy Mitchell and Milos Brajovic and strategic investors Eagle Pictures and Cineworld Group. Since then, the company has hired Kristin Cotich as EVP Worldwide Communications and Cheryl Rodman as a Chief Legal Officer. Spyglass is home to more than 250 film library titles, scripted and unscripted TV series, mostly from the now-defunct The Weinstein Company, such as Project Runway; Oscar winners The King’s Speech and The Artist; as well as Inglourious Basterds, Silver Linings Playbook, The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained and Spy Kids, and genre franchises Hellraiser and Scream.

“There is extraordinary opportunity for a well-capitalized, independent premium content company that controls IP, and can be agile and aggressive in its deal-making,” Whitney said. “Gary has an exceptional track record and an ambitious plan for the future of Spyglass. I am thrilled to be joining his team.”

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