Showtime, MTV Studios teams merge, slew of execs exit including Jana Winograde

Showtime co-presidents of entertainment Jana Winograde and Gary Levine are stepping down from their roles amid a wider executive shake-up, with Winograde exiting the company while Levine transitions into an advisory role.

Jana Winograde

The changes come as parent company Paramount Global merges the Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios teams, resulting in a slew of additional executive departures and expanded remits for several other execs. In total, Showtime laid off around 120 employees yesterday.

Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, revealed the executive changes in a pair of memos sent to staff.

Under the new creative leadership structure for Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, Nina L Diaz sees her role expand to chief creative officer and president of content. Keith Cox, president of scripted for MTV Entertainment Studios, will also see his role expand to president of scripted, reporting to Diaz.

Gary Levine

Amy Israel will continue as exec VP for Showtime original scripted; Trevor Rose takes the role of exec VP and head of talent and casting; Keri Flint’s role expands to VP and head of production; and Michael Elias assumes the new role of exec VP, head of scripted production.

Execs leaving the company as a result of the restructure include: Michael Crotty, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Paramount Premium Group; Vinnie Malhotra, exec VP, non-fiction programming at Showtime; Rob Rosenberg, executive VP, general counsel at Showtime; and Kent Sevener, Showtime’s exec VP of content acquisition.

At the group leadership level for both Paramount Media Networks and Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, Keyes Hill-Edgar is chief operating officer; Barbara Zaneri is chief programming acquisitions officer for Paramount Global, taking on day-to-day responsibilities for Showtime; and Laurel Weir will continue as exec VP and head of programming and insights.

Levine, who has overseen Showtime’s original programming for more than 20 years, is shifting into a role as senior creative advisor. During his tenure with the company, he has had oversight of shows including Dexter, Billions, The Chi, Californication, Homeland, Yellowjackets, Your Honor and Shameless. In a memo to staff, McCarthy said Levine’s contributions to Showtime “might surpass those of anyone in the history of the network.”

Winograde’s departure comes after six years with the company. McCarthy said that with the integration of Showtime across the wider Paramount Global company, many of the functions she oversaw including business affairs, production, operations and casting are being centralised.

“Not only has Jana been a deft steward of the Showtime brand, her strategic acumen has boosted the network’s profile domestically and around the world,” McCarthy said.

The combination of the Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios teams comes as Paramount Global prepares to integrate the Showtime brand into Paramount+ across both streaming and linear in the US.

The changes, set to come into effect later this year, will see the US linear service rebranded as Paramount+ with Showtime, while the paid SVoD tier of Paramount+ will also be rebranded as Paramount+ with Showtime.

In Europe, Paramount+ will complete its expansion across Europe with final launches in Spain and Andorra on February 28.