Reisenbach replaces Kelly Kahl as president of CBS Entertainment in restructure

CBS’s executive VP of current programmes Amy Reisenbach has been named president of CBS Entertainment, stepping into the shoes of long-serving exec Kelly Kahl, who is leaving next month as part of a restructure.

Amy Reisenbach

As part of the shake-up, Thom Sherman will leave his role as CBS’s senior executive VP programming before the end of the year and is signing an overall producing deal.

Under the pact, which spans CBS Entertainment and CBS Studios, former Bad Robot and The CW exec Sherman will develop and produce programming for the CBS network and other brands within parent company Paramount Global.

With her appointment, Reisenbach will take oversight of all primetime, daytime and late-night creative departments at the network, including comedy and drama development, alternative, specials, current programming, scheduling and casting. She will report to CBS president and CEO George Cheeks.

Reisenbach joined CBS in 2005 as a manager of current programmes for CBS Studios and rose to VP of current in 2011. In 2017, she was promoted to executive VP of current programmes at CBS, overseeing creative affairs for all the network’s scripted series, in addition to CBS Studios shows produced for other networks.

Kahl, meanwhile, is leaving the company after 26 years, the last five of them as president of CBS Entertainment.

During his tenure as president, Kahl and his team oversaw hit series including The Neighborhood, The Equalizer, Ghosts, Fire Country, NCIS: Hawai’i and a trio of titles from the FBI franchise.

According to CBS, it has seven of the top eight most-watched entertainment shows on US broadcast television this season and 16 of the top 25.

“Kelly is without peer in the broadcast television business,” said Cheeks in a staff memo. “He is the architect of primetime schedules that have made CBS number one for 19 of the last 20 seasons. He is the masterful and fearless scheduler who moved Survivor and CSI to Thursday, changing the landscape of that night after a decade of NBC dominance.”

Of Reisenbach, Cheeks added: “Amy is a brilliant, creative executive and an incredible, highly collaborative leader who has worked closely with all parts of the network and our Studios partners for many years.”