Vernon Sanders to exit Amazon MGM Studios

Amazon MGM Studios TV chief Vernon Sanders is stepping down from the company after seven years.

News of his departure comes six months after former boss Jennifer Salke also left the company, moving into production under a deal with the US giant.

Sanders will remain at Amazon MGM Studios for the coming months to assist in the transition period, with a successor as-yet unconfirmed.

The unexpected move follows the recent revelation of Sanders’ expanded role taking oversight of MGM Alternative Television. Sanders thanked both Salke and Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, in an internal memo, saying the latter’s “steadfast leadership has been instrumental in shaping Prime Video’s new vision and success”.

However, he said he had found himself “increasingly distant from what originally drew me to this industry – the day-to-day creative process of making television” and had made the decision to “return to those creative roots”.

In a separate memo to staff Hopkins thanked Sanders for his “foundational presence in our leadership team”.

“He has been instrumental in driving the growth of Prime Video and the creative evolution of Amazon MGM Studios, having overseen global series like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Boys, and Jack Ryan, while also greenlighting new commercial and critically-acclaimed hits such as Fallout, Reacher, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Jury Duty, Cross and more,” Hopkins wrote.

“Beyond the shows themselves, Vernon has forged deep partnerships with top creative talent across the industry over the course of his career and his creative leadership balanced large-scale, globally resonant franchises with distinct and diverse storytelling.

“This approach strengthened our position as a magnet for talent and a consistent place for customers around the world to find shows they love.”

Amazon MGM Studios has been through several reshuffles of late, with newly installed international originals chief Nicole Clemens taking responsibility for UK scripted series last month.