Eric Schrier (Courtesy of Disney General Entertainment Content)
FX Entertainment president Eric Schrier has been promoted to the newly created role of president of Disney Television Studios and Business Operations for Disney General Entertainment.
With the promotion, it was also announced that Bryan Noon would be exiting his role as president of entertainment for Walt Disney Television, but will stay onboard through a transition period. Noon came over to Disney from Netflix in November 2021.
Schrier’s promotion was one of three announced by Dana Walden, the chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content. It was also announced that Craig Erwich, president of ABC Entertainment and Hulu, has added Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals to his purview. In addition, Shannon Ryan has been named president of marketing for Disney General Entertainment. All three will report to Walden.
“I am incredibly fortunate to be working with some of the very best executives in our industry, and Craig, Shannon and Eric are exactly that – the best,” Walden said in a statement. ”These are proven leaders with both incredible creative sensibilities and strong business acumen. Additionally, they have long and impressive track records of supporting their teams and our amazing creative partners to do their very best work.”
In his new role, Schrier will have oversight of 20th Television, 20th Television Animation, and ABC Signature. 20th TV president Karey Burke, 20th TV Animation executive vice president Marci Proietto, ABC Signature president Jonnie Davis, and Disney General Entertainment executive vice president of strategy and business operations Trisha Husson will now all report to Schrier.
With the move, Schrier is leaving FX after over two decades with the network, where he worked closely with the long-tenured FX boss John Landgraf. The position of president of FX Entertainment was created for Schrier in 2019 when he, Nick Grad, and Gina Balian all signed new deals. During his time at FX, he worked on more than 100 original series, including hit shows like “Nip/Tuck,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Archer,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “Justified,” “The Americans,” “Atlanta,” “Fargo,” and more recent entries like “Snowfall” and “The Bear.”
The move away from FX ultimately makes sense for Schrier, given Disney’s strong emphasis on streaming over linear channels, and FX’s position as a major feeder for Hulu following the 21st Century Fox-Disney merger. Grad and Balian already serve as co-presidents of original programming at FX Entertainment and will now report directly to Landgraf, reducing redundancy at the top of the FX platform.
Promoting Schrier, Erwich, and Ryan are the first executive moves made by Walden since she took on her new role back in June following the surprising ouster of Peter Rice. She oversees ABC Entertainment, ABC News, Disney Branded Television, Disney Television Studios, Freeform, FX, Hulu Originals, National Geographic Content and Onyx Collective, reporting directly to Disney CEO Bob Chapek.
Variety's Joe Otterson contributed to this post.
https://variety.com/2022/biz/news/fx-entertainment-eric-schrier-president-disney-tv-studios-business-operations-bryan-noon-exit-1235356890/#recipient_hashed=27d3e1decbdd57f8473998652dd3259302a49d011cd4c3c98101f80952412574
