Lauren Whitney Joins Spyglass Media Group as President Of Television
LOS ANGELES — Spyglass Media Group, LLC (“Spyglass”), a newly-announced independent premium content company, expands its management team with the hiring of Lauren Whitney as President of Television, effective April 1. It was announced today by Gary Barber, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Spyglass, to whom Whitney will report.
In this role, Whitney is charged with overseeing television development & production, for broadcast, cable and OTT services and invigorating the company’s IP and library titles.
In making the announcement, Barber said, “Lauren has discerning taste, stellar industry relationships, and has overseen production on a variety of compelling series across all platforms. We are fortunate to have Lauren’s talents and creative leadership as we build on our television business.”
Whitney said, “There is extraordinary opportunity for a well-capitalized, independent premium content company that controls IP, and can be agile and aggressive in its deal-making. Gary has an exceptional track record and an ambitious plan for the future of Spyglass. I am thrilled to be joining his team.”
Whitney comes to Spyglass after a year at Miramax where she was the President of Television. Whitney oversaw the studio’s television development, in addition to “Spy City,” produced by Odeon and Seven Stories for ZDF and the “Gone Baby Gone” pilot, a co-production with 20th Century Fox Television.
Prior to Miramax, Whitney was the President of Scripted Television at Legendary Entertainment. There, she oversaw a robust television division that included series development, production, marketing and distribution. During her tenure, Whitney oversaw the production of series including: “Lost in Space” (Netflix), “Colony” (USA Network), “Love” (Netflix), “Carnival Row” (Amazon), and “The Looming Tower” starring the Emmy Award winning and Golden Globe nominee, Jeff Daniels, Tamar Rahim, and Golden Globe winning and Academy Award nominee, Alec Baldwin (Hulu).
Previously, Whitney was a television agent at The William Morris Agency and later WME, where she represented writers and producers and specialized in the development of intellectual property.
Whitney joins Spyglass’ recently announced appointments of Kristin Cotich, the Executive Vice President, Worldwide Communications and Cheryl Rodman as a Chief Legal Officer. Spyglass Media Group launched in partnership between Barber and Lantern Entertainment Co-Presidents Andy Mitchell and Milos Brajovic and strategic investors Eagle Pictures and Cineworld Group. The company is primarily focused on developing, producing, financing and acquiring premium content worldwide for theatrical, network, cable and streaming platforms. Spyglass is now home to more than 250 film library titles, scripted and unscripted television series, such as “Project Runway;” Academy Award winners “The King’s Speech” and “The Artist;” box office hits “Inglourious Basterds,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “The Hateful Eight,” “Django Unchained” and “Spy Kids,” and genre franchises “Hellraiser” and “Scream.”