Paramount’s George Cheeks Unveils Cable TV Leadership As MTV Owner Plans To “Reinvent” Its Brands & Lean Into Franchises Like ‘South Park’ & ‘The Daily Show’

Paramount has cemented the new leadership of its cable brands such as MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon as it sets out plans to “reinvent” these brands.

George Cheeks, Chair of TV Media at Skydance-owned Paramount, has named its top executives across these networks, following last week’s layoffs, which saw the departure of a phalanx of cable employees.

Laurel Weir will lead programming for MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and other cable networks, and will also oversee the Global Programming Acquisitions Group across TV Media. Weir rose up the company having joined in research.

Sitarah Pendelton will oversee MTV series and specials including its RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise, while Jeannie Scalzo will lead the MTV business alongside Weir. Pendelton was previously EVP, Unscripted Series, Paramount Media Networks and Paramount+, while Scalzo was EVP, Brand Partnerships at Paramount Media Networks.

At Nickelodeon, Jules Borkent, who has been with the kids channel since 1998, largely on the international side,…