Amazon Studios & AMC alum to lead Middle East’s MBC Studios

Rashash

Former Amazon Studios and AMC exec Christina Wayne has been appointed to lead the studio division of Middle East-based MBC Group.

Christina Wayne

Wayne becomes MD and will oversee all shows for the in-house production arm, replacing Pete Smith who departed earlier this year. His next move is not yet known but he continues to hold an advisory role with MBC.

The Saudi-based production division has been behind shows including Rashash, Tony Jordan’s The Devil’s Promise and Desert Warrior, with shows debuting via MBC’s 17 free to air satellite networks and global streamer, Shahid.

Wayne had been head of Canada & Australia for Amazon Studios since September 2019 and before that worked at Assembly Entertainment, Cineflix Studios and AMC.

Her stint at the latter, where she was SVP of scripted series & miniseries, brought a slew of hits ranging from Mad Men and Broken Trail to Breaking Bad.

Sam Barnett, MBC’s group CEO, thanked Smith for his time with the firm and added: “We look forward to [Watne] building on the team’s successes as we continue to expand our horizons in international content even further.”