Andy Weil Leaves Netflix For Amazon MGM Comedy Lead
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Andy Weil is leaving Netflix after 11+ years to become Head of Comedy at Amazon MGM Studios, reporting to Head of Global Television Peter Friedlander, with his first day set for September 14.
- Friedlander launched the comedy search one month ago and restructured Amazon's scripted operation into three areas — Drama (Kara Smith), Comedy (Weil), and a still-vacant Young Adult slot — alongside the existing Worldbuilding & Genre and Animation groups.
- Weil joined Netflix in June 2015 from Universal Television as Director of Original Series and was promoted to VP in February 2020, serving as the streamer' No. 2 comedy executive under Jane Wiseman and Tracey Pakosta.
- Weil's comedy credits span Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Master of None, BoJack Horseman, Nobody Wants This, Russian Doll, Black Mirror, and the upcoming A Hundred Percent and I Suck at Girls.
- Weil is the first sitting Netflix executive recruited by Friedlander; prior Friedlander hires Blair Fetter, Jenn Levy, and Mandy Schaffer had already left the streamer before joining Amazon.
- Amazon MGM Studios' comedy slate remains modest compared to its drama and YA hits like Reacher, Fallout, and The Summer I Turned Pretty, currently anchored by Overcompensating, Elle, Emmy-nominated Jury Duty, and the breakout Ride of Die awaiting Season 2 word.
Why it matters: Amazon has stacked its drama and YA pipelines with global hits but lacks a half-hour comedy engine — Friedlander is now betting Weil, who greenlit some of Netflix's most acclaimed comedies, can build one. The hire also pulls a sitting, deeply embedded Netflix exec across town, intensifying the talent arms race between the two streamers in the half-hour space.
Ask SkimNews
