Apple has poached a top exec from Amazon Studios named Morgan Wandell to be its new Head of International Series. According to Variety, Mr. Wandell will be, “developing big-ticket productions that can travel well around the world.”
Shows Mr. Wandell developed for Amazon include The Man in the High Castle, Goliath, and upcoming shows Jack Ryan and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. He also worked on Sneaky Pete with his new bosses, Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, when they were still at Sony. Sneaky Pete ended up moving from Sony to Amazon.
Apple’s Increasingly Big Video Efforts
This is a major hire for Apple, and one of many under Messrs. Erlicht and Van Amburg. Apple brought the two from Sony to head Apple’s own video efforts earlier this year. On October 10th, they announced a $5 million episode deal with Steven Spielberg to reboot Amazing Stories for Apple.
Morgan Wandell will report directly to Messrs. Erlicht and Van Amburg, who in turn report to Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue. Before joining Amazon in 2013, Mr. Wandell worked for an independent production company run by Greg Berlanti. He also worked at ABC Studios, where Variety said he worked on Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Private Practice, Criminal Minds, and Ghost Whisperer.