Walt Disney Television to Oversee Hulu's Scripted Originals Content Team

The Hulu Scripted Originals content team is joining forces with Walt Disney Television to integrate development of original scripted drama and comedy programming for the streaming service with Disney's expansive television resources. With this alignment, Craig Erwich, senior vice president of Scripted Originals for Hulu, will report to Dana Walden, chairman of Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment. Erwich will continue to lead scripted originals planning, development and commissioning for Hulu's original comedies and dramas, and his team will remain housed within the Santa Monica Hulu headquarters.

Hulu's unscripted original programming, original film development and licensed live and on-demand content acquisition teams will remain in their current structure, reporting up to Hulu CEO Randy Freer. In addition, the streaming service's overall content strategy, capital allocation and investment decisions, and originals content marketing will continue to be led by Hulu's business and marketing teams.

"As Hulu drives toward its ambitious subscriber and engagement goals, it is important that we take full advantage of the creative resources and production capabilities of Disney Television Studios, which are among the best in the world," said Freer. "Craig and his scripted originals team have created a broad, award-winning slate of programming for Hulu that drives culture and inspires conversation, and we're looking forward to growing that caliber of scripted dramas and comedies on Hulu with the additional power of Walt Disney Television behind it."

"Hulu Originals have been widely recognized for their originality, boldness and high level of quality. They are a meaningful part of what has driven the platform's impressive growth over the past few years. Craig and his team have done excellent work," said Walden. "I am excited to work with Randy in this next phase of Hulu. This new structure will enable Hulu to have access to many of the best creators in the world and programming from all of the content engines inside of Walt Disney Television."

Under Erwich's leadership, Hulu has emerged as a home for a premium slate of original programming including the Emmy(R)- and Golden Globe(R) Award-winning "The Handmaid's Tale," the first-ever streaming series to take home both awards in the drama series category; Emmy Award-nominated shows "The Act," "Catch-22," "Castle Rock," "The Looming Tower" and "Pen15"; fan-favorite hit "Marvel's Runaways" and culture-driving new comedies "Ramy" and "Shrill." Upcoming Hulu Originals include "Four Weddings and a Funeral" from Mindy Kaling; "Wu-Tang: An American Saga" from Brian Grazer and The RZA; and "Little Fires Everywhere" from Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.

The Walt Disney Company announced in May 2019 that it had assumed full operational control of Hulu. Freer continues to have oversight of the overall Hulu business and operations, including original movie and unscripted series development and commissioning, content licensing, marketing, strategy and development, product, technology, subscriber management, and the global P&L of the business. He remains a direct report of Kevin Mayer, chairman of Walt Disney's Direct-to-Consumer and International. Dana Walden reports to Peter Rice, chairman of Walt Disney Television.

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