How Disney Greenlights Shows

In the olden days, before streaming, the end of May would mark a critical period in which studios would order new shows. That’s changed in recent years, at least in terms of the significance of that time frame. Now, there’s indefinite shelf space. And against that backdrop, much of the conversation has turned to a key question: Who has greenlight authority.

At Disney, that authority is carved up by brands. That may sound simple, but it’s a philosophy that Dana Walden, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment at the Walt Disney Co., attributed to the company’s recent success.

“The teams are small enough to specialize in different types of stories,” she said at the 49th UCLA Entertainment Symposium on Friday. The longtime TV exec, a popular and well-known figure within the talent community, stressed that she relies on her brand leaders to curate programming.

Last year, Walden, who oversees a sprawling portfolio of platforms (Hulu, Disney+, FX) and studios (20th Television, Disney-Branded Television), saw her various outfits score a record 60 Emmy wins. She’s coming off a string of hits, buoyed by FX productions like Shogun and The Bear, Hulu darling Only Murders in the Building and ABC broadcast unicorn Abbott Elementary.

After the return of chief executive Bob Iger, Walden was assigned oversight of TV networks and global streaming. She, in turn, expanded the duties of certain executives. That included FX chief John Landfraf, whom Walden named-checked at several points of her keynote.

“Think about FX,” she said. “It’s superserving an audience that loves high quality, serialized dramas and comedies.”

Then there’s Hulu and ABC, which are organized under one brand because the network’s shows go onto the streaming platform after premiering and specialize in procedural dramas and broad comedies, as well as a Disney-branded unit that target younger audiences.

Shiny competition productions, like American Idol that drive streaming engagement, are under a different team and separated from the group that oversees unscripted productions, like the Bachelor franchise, Walden said.

“I do get involved in those decisions,” she qualified. The exec added, “I can’t think of time when a brand leader elevated a decision to me that I didn’t support because I’m very aware of the strategy throughout the process.”

It wasn’t always this way at Disney. In 2020, former chief executive Bob Chapek overhauled the executive leadership structure amid a pivot to streaming in a dramatic departure from Disney’s historical reporting structure. The move was controversial within the company for taking power away from content-focused executives. Authority was centralized in a new reporting group led by Chapek lieutenant Kareem Daniel, who alongside his mentor, exerted atypical control over content decisions.

Walden wasn’t short on praise for Iger during he keynote, citing his $71.3 billion deal for Disney to acquire the bulk of entertainment assets owned by 21st Century Fox. The acquisition “gave us this incredible library of shows,” she said, noting that those productions drive engagement. “We’re constantly introducing shows like Grey’s Anatomy or Modern Family to a new generation of viewers.”