Amazon Studios rejigs with new roles for originals, co-pros & limited series execs

The Summer I Turned Pretty

Amazon Studios has promoted three executives, with Kara Smith, Jon Wax and Andy Bourne expanding their roles and taking on new responsibilities.

The changes were announced in a joint internal memo from Amazon Studios’ head of TV, Vernon Sanders; head of international originals, James Farrell; and Laura Lancaster, head of SVOD TV development & series, co-productions.

Smith, who previously served as head of limited series development, working on titles such as Reacher and The Summer I Turned Pretty, has been made head of TV development, SVOD co-productions, and will continue to report to Lancaster.

She takes on a role that was previously jointly held by Wax and Bourne, with the move seeing Bourne – who joined from Disney last year and has worked on shows such as The Old Man and Dopesick – taking on the head of limited series role and now reporting to Smith.

Wax, meanwhile, has been appointed to the newly created role of head of global content synergy – TV, and will report to Sanders and Farrell.

“Jon’s new team will work with all of our global TV content groups to ensure our originals are developed with rich, relevant access points for our worldwide audience. This team will also sync directly with our Prime Video US and International partners to strategize at the earliest stages on how our upcoming pipeline can deliver for each region’s needs,” revealed Sanders, Farrell and Lancaster in the memo.

The note also revealed that the second season of Amazon Studios’ romantic drama The Summer I Turned Pretty has enjoyed a successful launch on Prime Video, managing to more than double its season one viewership in just three days.