Disney EMEA’s original content chief Liam Keelan to step down after five years

Liam Keelan, senior VP of original content at Disney EMEA, is leaving the company after five years.

Liam Keelan

Keelan, who joined Disney in early 2020, will leave the Mouse House in early 2025. Posting on LinkedIn, he said: “Announced today that after five years I’ve taken the difficult decision to leave Disney and move on to pastures new.

“It’s been an amazing time – truly one of the best jobs I’ve had – and I’m very thankful to have been at Disney+ from the very beginning and to have helped launch so many great shows across our EMEA markets, with many more to come.

“A special thank-you to all my Disney EMEA colleagues for their support, humour and unbridled creativity. I’ll be cheering them from the sidelines for a long time to come.”

Keelan, who is based in London, began his TV career in 2002 as head of scheduling and planning for BBC One and BBC Two. In 2006, he became controller of daytime at ITV, before returning to the BBC in 2008. He was controller of BBC Daytime until 2013 when he became portfolio director until joining Disney.

While at Disney, Keelan built the EMEA programming team as Disney+ expanded internationally. Seventy originals have been produced under his tenure, including Sally Wainwright’s 2024 historical fantasy drama Renegade Nell and 2023 superhero comedy Extraordinary.

Deadline was the first to report the news.