Prominent American producer Christina Wayne, who helmed “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad,” has been appointed managing director of MBC Studios, the expanded production arm of leading Middle East broadcaster MBC Group.
Wynn will replace former NBC Universal president Peter Smith, who over the past four years oversaw the expansion of the Saudi-owned broadcaster’s production operations by launching the Shahid VIP streaming service, along with its linear channels. Is. MBC Studios is now investing hundreds of millions of dollars in high-end productions in Saudi Arabia as part of ongoing efforts to help kickstart the kingdom’s fledgling industry. To this end, MBC moved its headquarters from Dubai to Riyadh last year.
In her new role, Wynn will continue MBC Studios’ ongoing work to expand the reach of its content to audiences around the world, leveraging the continued trend of non-English language television content to reach more global markets. Picking up,” the company said. a statement.
Smith, who produced several big-budget flagship MBC Studios shows including “The Devil’s Promise,” a series created by Tony Jordan (“Life on Mars”) and helmed by British director Colin Teague. , and the big-budget Saudi actioner “Desert Warrior,” featuring an all-star international cast led by “Captain America” star Anthony Mackie and Ayesha Hart (“Mowgli Mowgli,” “Colette”). He resigned last month due to unknown reasons. He will remain on the board as an advisor.
MBC CEO Sam Barnett said in a statement, “Christina brings with her a wealth of international expertise in content development and production where she has worked in many regions and languages, and Amy and has guided the development of the Golden Globe Award-winning series.” Statement
“We look forward to building on the team’s successes as we continue to expand our horizons in international content,” he added.
Wayne said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be joining the MBC Group and MBC Studios and I’ve heard great things about Peter and the incredible team the rest of MBC have built. It’s a great opportunity for me. A very exciting project, and I can’t wait to be fully involved in one of the world’s most exciting regions for content production.
Wayne stepped down last year as head of Canadian and Australian originals at Amazon Studios where he played a key role in developing the Canadian originals strategy. She was president of Canada’s Cineflix Studios before leaving in 2013 to develop content under her production banner Assembly Entertainment. Prior to joining Cineflix, Wayne served as senior VP of scripted programming at AMC where he helped develop “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad” and “Broken Trail.”
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