BBCS reshuffles in LA as Mark Linsey exits

BBC Studios is combining its scripted and unscripted operations in LA into a single entity to be led by Ryan O’Dowd, with Mark Linsey among two senior exec exits.

O’Dowd has been upped to become president of BBC Studios Global Productions LA, expanding his remit to oversee all production activity at the company’s California base.

He was most recently overseeing BBCS’s extensive unscripted business in LA, which includes Dancing with the Stars for ABC, Nation’s Dumbest for Fox, and Outlast for Netflix.

BBCS said the rejig would bring creative and production teams more closely together and allow the company to leverage its wider Global Productions network.

The restructure will see the exit of Linsey, who had been president of BBCS’s scripted LA unit, as well as the departure of Angie Stephenson, exec vice president of scripted LA.

Linsey had been with the BBC and its commercial arm for more than two decades, holding roles including BBC controller of entertainment, where he worked on shows including Strictly Come Dancing, Top Gear and The Graham Norton Show.

He was also acting director of TV, before launching BBC Studios as a commercial business in 2016 and working across the merger with BBC Worldwide in 2018. He relocated to LA three years ago to oversee its US scripted output.

Stephenson had been with BBCS for more than a decade and worked on series including Mammoth for Fox and Night Of for HBO, as well as overseeing format adaptations such as the US remake of Ghosts for CBS.

Matt Forde, president of BBC Studios Global Productions, said the reshuffle would create a “more connected and collaborative” business.

Forde added that structure “puts us in a strong position to build on that momentum while drawing on the full breadth of BBC Studios’ creative and production expertise around the world.”

On Linsey’s exit, Forde said: “I’ve been fortunate to work with Mark for more than a decade, both in the US and the UK. He has had an exceptional career across the BBC and BBC Studios and has made an enormous contribution to our creative success and to the wider television industry.

“We are incredibly grateful for his leadership, vision and commitment, and wish him every success in his next chapter.

“I also want to thank Angie for the significant impact she has made on our Scripted business in LA, where she’s been instrumental in developing our slate, building important creative relationships and helping bring some fantastic shows to American audiences. We wish her all the very best as she now moves into producing.”

O’Dowd added: “Los Angeles remains one of the most important creative markets for BBC Studios, and I’m incredibly excited to take on this expanded role. We have tremendous talent and creative ambition across both Scripted and Unscripted, and bringing our production activity together creates new opportunities to collaborate, share ideas and build on the momentum we already have.”