Bryan Noon named president of Walt Disney Television Entertainment division

Noon will be responsible with overseeing the growth of Walt Disney Television’s unscripted and animation programming

Bryan Noon was named president, Entertainment, Walt Disney Television today by the group’s chairman, Dana Walden, to whom he will report. Noon will lead the production and business affairs teams for Walt Disney Television’s expansive portfolio of content brands, including Hulu Originals, Onyx Collective, ABC Entertainment and Freeform, along with production companies ABC Signature and 20th Television. Additionally, he will oversee all aspects of 20th Animation, Walt Disney Television Unscripted and Alternative, Disney Television Studios Creative Talent Development & Inclusion, 20th Digital Studios, and Creative Acquisitions.

Noon, who most recently served as vice president of Original Series at Netflix, will lead a centralized business affairs and production organization, with teams embedded in each creative unit. He will work closely with the units’ leaders — Karey Burke (president, 20th Television), Jonnie Davis (president, ABC Signature), Tara Duncan (president, Freeform and Onyx Collective) and Craig Erwich (president, Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment) — while also working to identify business strategies and synergies that maximize both the quantity and quality of content output. Additionally, Noon is charged with overseeing the growth of Walt Disney Television’s unscripted and animation slates. 

Reporting to Noon will be Rob Mills (EVP, Unscripted and Alternative Entertainment, Walt Disney Television), Marci Proietto (EVP, 20th Animation), David Worthen (EVP, 20th Digital Studios), Tim McNeal (SVP, Creative Talent Development & Inclusion) and Elizabeth Newman (VP, Creative Acquisitions). Also reporting directly to Noon with dotted line reporting into the creative unit leaders are Business Affairs executives Kerry Kennedy (EVP, Business Affairs, ABC Entertainment and Walt Disney Television Unscripted), Josh Sussman (EVP, Business Affairs & Operations, ABC Signature), Carlos Williams (EVP, Business Affairs & Operations, 20th Television, Freeform and Onyx Collective), Brittany Hveem (SVP, Business Affairs, Hulu Originals) and Brad McBride (VP, Business Affairs, 20th Animation); and Production executives Nissa Diederich (EVP, Production, 20th Television), Carol Turner (EVP, Production, ABC Signature), Jayne Bieber (SVP, Production Management & Operations, Freeform), Mark Levenstein (VP, Production, Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment) and Dominick Nuzzi (VP, Production and Administration, ABC Daytime).

“I am so happy to welcome Bryan back to Disney,” said Walden. “Since leaving ABC Studios, now known as ABC Signature, Bryan played a meaningful role in building the original content strategy for a world-class streaming platform that transformed our industry. His wealth of experience, combined with the overwhelming respect he has earned from his colleagues and partners, made him an undeniable choice for this position.”

“I’m thrilled to be returning to the most famous storytelling company in the world at a time of incredible expansion in its volume of production,” added Noon. “The talented creative teams under Dana develop and curate iconic and distinctive programming across all platforms, and I’m excited to support their creators and continue the company’s storytelling legacy.”

While at Netflix, Noon led the business team for original series during the company’s foray into original programming. He also oversaw the build-out of the company’s internal studio, overseeing its deal-making and operations, including the formation of its production and post-production teams. Prior to Netflix, he worked for nine years at ABC Studios, first as the studio’s head of finance and then as vice president of Business Affairs. He began his early career in finance at Warner Bros. Television, Universal Television, InterMedia Films and Artists Television Group.

Photo: Disney/Richard Harbaugh

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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