Rola Bauer to Exit Amazon MGM Studios Post as Head of Pan English Global Original Series

International TV veteran Rola Bauer is stepping down from her role as Amazon MGM Studios‘ head of English-language global original series produced outside the U.S.

The parting is amicable and instigated by Bauer. The seasoned producer and creative executive joined MGM in 2020 as president of international TV production. The scope of her role changed after Amazon’s 2022 acquisition of MGM to focus on a specific type of content that Amazon MGM Studios dubbed Pan-English global originals — projects produced in English but outside the U.S. The team put an emphasis on glossy event series that can travel well across territories and cultures.

As Amazon and MGM fine-tune the company’s hierarchy and strategy, Bauer decided it was a good time to return to producing and entrepreneurial content packaging and development efforts. Bauer’s executive team will be absorbed into the larger Amazon Studios structure. Bauer will help steer the transition and help oversee the launch of the first wave of projects from the group. The executive who split her time between Munich and Amazon’s U.S. office is expected to formally exit in the first quarter.

Among the notable series projects that Bauer’s team has assembled for Amazon Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios are “Harlan Coben’s Lazarus” starring Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy; “Haven,” toplined by “Game of Thrones” alum Sophie Turner; comedy series “Quarter Life,” led by Riz Ahmed; and “The Girlfriend,” starring Robin Wright, who also directs, and Olivia Cooke.

Bauer previously headed the Studiocanal TV production arm for France’s Canal+. She took the helm of that division after Canal+ acquired the successful Tandem Productions banner that Bauer co-founded with producer Tim Halkin in 1999.

Earlier in her career, Bauer, a native of Canada, worked as a creative executive at Toronto’s Alliance Communications. She later moved to Germany to join Teuton TV giant ProSieben, where she steered international series and oversaw co-production deals.

Six months after joining MGM, Bauer discussed the state of what was then the COVID depressed co-production marketplace in a virtual conversation conducted by Variety for the Monte-Carlo Television Festival. Bauer’s focus then may offer a hint as to her next chapter.

“Because not everyone can carry the full freight of budget costs, there is even more need for different players in the market who are not the big streaming players,” Bauer said in December 2020.