Ex-Paramount exec lands Fifth Season acquisitions role

Fifth Season has appointed Paramount UK’s former scripted originals co-chief Kate Laffey to head up acquisitions.

As senior vice-president of acquisitions Laffey will be responsible for overseeing the company’s global acquisition strategy and the London-based acquisition team, led by executive director of acquisitions Liz Tang. She will report to executive vice-president of television distribution, Jennifer Ebell.

Laffey, who takes up her role today (23 June), joins after a year heading the nascent TV division of film-focused production company Number 9 Films, founded by Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley.

Previously, she spent four years at Paramount heading up the international TV studio, where she oversaw expansion of the UK and European scripted originals pipeline for Paramount+ working on shows such as The Gold, A Gentleman in Moscow and The Flatshare.

Her other previous roles include vice-president of acquisitions across scripted and non-scripted at Cineflix Rights, and senior scripted acquisitions executive at ITV Studios.

Ebell said: “Kate brings a formidable blend of commercial insight and creative instinct, with a track record for identifying the kind of global, talent-driven stories that define our slate. She’s trusted by producers, respected across the industry, and we’re thrilled to have her join the acquisitions team.”

Laffey added: “Fifth Season has built a world-class reputation for bold, distinctive storytelling, and I look forward to working with the team to help expand its global reach and to continue delivering compelling, high-quality programming to our partners around the world.”

Fifth Season, previously Endeavor Content, has over 60 executives based across New York, LA, Hong Kong, Stockholm and Toronto and its distribution operation is headquartered in London.

Its distribution slate includes comedy American Classic from its own studio for MGM+, Stan Original series He Had It Coming and Made Up Stories’ The Good Daughter.