Amazon names Carina Walker head of YA as Peter Friedlander cements team

Carina Walker

Amazon MGM Studio has named Carina Walker as its head of young-adult (YA).

Walker, who was most recently a senior development exec in the drama department, will be charged with overseeing the YA slate, a genre that has become a cornerstone of Prime Video’s programming output, particularly for book-to-screen adaptations.

The exec has previously worked on titles including YA hit Off Campus, in addition to Mr and Mrs Smith and Every Year After.

“With an upcoming slate of huge BookTok IP and voice-driven talent, Carina is the perfect choice to lead this industry-leading vertical,” said Amazon MGM Studios’ head of global TV Peter Friedlander in an internal memo.

The appointment means that the content team under Friedlander is now complete.

Last week, Amazon MGM Studios announced that it had hired Netflix comedy VP Andy Weil as its new head of comedy.

Friedlander, who joined Amazon after almost 14 years with Netflix, previously installed other department heads: Kara Smith (drama), Blair Fetter (worldbuilding), Jenn Levy (unscripted) and Melissa Wolfe (animation).

“This is the team that will define the next chapter of our storytelling,” he said in his memo.

Walker initially joined Amazon in 2013 and had climbed to become a development executive for international originals by late 2016. A year later, she left to join Apple as a development exec for its international slate, before rejoining Amazon in 2021.