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Morgan Wandell

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Morgan Wandell is an American media executive and producer. He is the head of international content development for Apple TV+. A "veteran of the streaming revolution",[2] he previously held senior creative positions at Amazon, ABC, and Touchstone. His credits include Masters of the Air, The New Look, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Acapulco, Pachinko,The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Man in the High Castle, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Ugly Betty, Lost, Criminal Minds, Grey's Anatomy, Goliath and Tehran.[3][4][5]

Morgan Wandell
Born
Morgan Wandell

1971[1]
NationalityAmerican
Alma materClaremont McKenna College
Occupation(s)Head of international content development
Apple TV+
EmployerApple
Organization(s)Producers Guild of America, Council on Foreign Relations, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
BAFTA, YPO
Board member ofKCRW, Saban Community Clinic
SpouseFrancine Li

Early life and education

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Morgan Wandell grew up in Champaign, Illinois, graduating from Centennial High School in 1989. He was the senior class president and a member of the competitive swim team at Centennial.[6][7]

Wandell attended Claremont McKenna College where he graduated cum laude with a degree in economics in 1993. During the summer between his junior and senior year, he interned for Channel One News.[8]

Career

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Following his graduation, Wandell was hired by Channel One News, where he wrote, produced, and directed news features and series for a daily newscast. In 1996, he landed a creative executive role at Disney's Touchstone Studios. At Touchstone, he managed primetime series and supervised the development slate of producers such as Jerry Bruckheimer, David Hoberman, and Peter Tolan. His shows included Boy Meets World and Home Improvement as well as Ryan Murphy's first series, Popular, for the WB.[9][10][1] The Home Improvement writers named the fictitious network executive who cancelled Tool Time -- the show within the show -- Morgan Wandell. ("There's no project...If you have any complaints about that, you might want to email Morgan Wandell at big-fat-zero-dot-com.")[11][9]

In the late 90s, Touchstone was merged with ABC Studios, and in the wake of the merger,[12] Wandell decided to pursue his interest developing streaming video programming. In August 1999 he was named VP of Development at DEN, a precursor to modern streaming services that "lead the convergence of Hollywood and Silicon Valley, as it worked to create a new TV-style entertainment medium delivered on the Internet."[13] .[14] While at DEN, he supervised DEN's entertainment-based programming, oversaw the development and production of nonfiction video and animation, and helped to restructure the production operations and reduce its expenses.[15]

In March 2000, DEN CEO Jim Ritts left the company to become CEO of Channel One, and recruited Wandell to return to Channel One as its head of programming. He was promoted to president of programming the following year. There Wandell oversaw production of a daily newscast for 8 million young people and expanded its capabilities into production commitments with other outside networks, including the MTV documentary series Breaking It Down with Serena Altschul, the 9/11 special The Day It All Changed for the WB, and investigative features on ABC News' Nightline on underground Christian churches in China.[15]

In 2004, Wandell was appointed senior vice president, drama at ABC Studios. Over the next four years he developed series including Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty, Private Practice, Criminal Minds, and Ghost Whisperer, and helped to launch Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy. During his tenure at ABC, the studio scaled significantly from producing one returning drama to 17. In 2008, producer Greg Berlanti recruited him to run Berlanti Television, which produced shows such as Brothers and Sisters, Eli Stone , Dirty Sexy Money , and No Ordinary Family.[4]

In 2013, Wandell was named head of drama development at Amazon. There, in addition to The Man in the High Castle, Wandell helped to develop David E. Kelley's Goliath,[16] starring Billy Bob Thornton; Amy Sherman-Palladino's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, [17] Sneaky Pete, the anthology series Electric Dreams, cult hit Patriot, and the limited series A Very English Scandal. He was promoted to head of international series in 2016 as Prime Video expanded globally into more than 200 territories. [18] In that position he led development of co-productions such as The Widow with Kate Beckinsdale (UK), and a slate of originals such as Breathe, El Candito (produced in Mexico), and Inside Edge, Made In Heaven, Mirzapur and The Family Man (made in India).[19]

In October 2017 Apple launched its video subscription service—later called Apple TV+—and Wandell was appointed head of international content.[20][21]Masters of the Air, an international WWII television series by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Tom Hanks' Playtone launched in January 2024. It was the first series in which Apple served as the studio. The Apple TV+ international programming slate developed by Wandell also included The New Look, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Acapulco, Pachinko, Tehran, Shantaram, Calls and Losing Alice.[22][23][5]

Personal life

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Wandell and his wife, Francine Li, reside in Los Angeles with their two children. [24] He serves on the Board of Directors of KCRW and Friends of the Saban Community Clinic.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Next Generation Class of 2006: Television". The Hollywood Reporter. 7 November 2006. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  2. ^ Kay, Jeremy; Rosser, Michael; Hazelton, John; Foreman, Liza (2019-11-06). "International insiders in the US: the key TV and streaming executives". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  3. ^ "Amazon's Morgan Wandell Jumps Ship for Apple". The Hollywood Reporter. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  4. ^ a b Schneider, Michael (2008-07-31). "Greg Berlanti woos ABC executive". Variety. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  5. ^ a b Otterson, Joe (2020-06-16). "Apple to Co-Produce International Thriller Series 'Tehran'". Variety. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  6. ^ "The Centurian Yearbook". 7 May 2018. pp. 11, 14. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  7. ^ "The Centurian Yearbook 1989". Issuu. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  8. ^ "CMC alum to head drama department at Amazon Studios". cmc.edu. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  9. ^ a b Schneider, Michael (2004-07-12). "Comedy, drama duo for Touchstone". Variety. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  10. ^ Graser, Marc (2000-06-07). "Channel One taps DEN exec". Variety. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  11. ^ "Home Improvement Archive - Script for [8.25] The Long and Winding Road, Part I". www.hiarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  12. ^ Stewart, James B. (18 February 2005). Disney war (First Simon & Schuster pbk. ed.). New York. ISBN 978-0-7432-8390-8. OCLC 905250773.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. ^ "How a Visionary Venture on the Web Unraveled". Los Angeles Times. 2000-05-07. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  14. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (1999-08-27). "DEN taps Wandell as VP". Variety. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
  15. ^ a b Graser, Marc (2000-06-07). "Channel One taps DEN exec". Variety. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
  16. ^ Ito, Robert (2016-10-07). "Billy Bob Thornton Plays a Lawyer in 'Goliath.' A Drunkard, Too". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  17. ^ Recode Staff (2018-03-12). "Full transcript: 'Sneaky Pete' showrunner Graham Yost on Recode Media". Vox. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  18. ^ Dilger, Daniel Eran (October 20, 2017). "Apple Worldwide Video's LA office poaches Amazon Studios exec Morgan Wandell". AppleInsider. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  19. ^ "Amazon's Morgan Wandell Joins Apple As Head Of International TV Development". www.yahoo.com. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  20. ^ Otterson, Joe. "3 Amazon Studios executives head to Apple as it gears up to produce more original content". Insider. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  21. ^ Barnes, Brooks (2017-06-16). "Apple, Moving In on Prestige TV, Poaches Two Sony Executives". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  22. ^ Gonzalez, Sandra (11 October 2019). "'Masters of the Air' from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks lands at Apple". CNN. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  23. ^ "Mark Boal Adapting 'When Heroes Fly' as Apple Drama Series | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  24. ^ "Aspen Weddings". digital.modernluxury.com. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  25. ^ "Friends Board of Directors" (PDF). Saban Community Clinic. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
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