Sandra Stern, a 40-year TV veteran and one of the top business executives in the television industry over the last two decades, will be leaving her post as Vice Chairman at the Lionsgate Television Group, after 23 years at the indie studio. She will be stepping down at the end of March, segueing into a long-term consultancy to the TV Group.
The consultant arrangement notwithstanding, Stern will be looking for opportunities beyond the TV business.
“After more than 40 years, it’s time to see if there’s life after television,” she said.
During her tenure at Lionsgate TV, where she was President of the TV Group before being promoted to Vice Chairman in 2022, Stern was known for crafting bespoke and innovative business models.
That includes creating deal framework for new entrants in the scripted space as Lionsgate TV produced the first original drama series for AMC with Mad Men and for Starz with Crash, an adaptation of Lionsgate’s Oscar-winning movie, as well as the second original scripted series for Netflix with Orange Is The New Black.
Stern worked for months with then-head of Netflix’s scripted originals Cindy Holland on the Orange Is The New Black deal, which essentially became the scripted series template of the early streaming era.
The template was subsequently adjusted as Stern helped create a business model for Lionsgate at Apple TV, first with Mythic Quest, Acapulco, and, most recently, one of the key series on the streamer’s current slate, The Studio, winner of a record 13 Emmys including Outstanding Comedy.
And last summer, Stern revamped the studio’s business model for The Hunting Wives, originally designed for a domestic run on Starz and a raft of international sales, to fit Netflix’s global rights paradigm.
Stern also was instrumental in Liongate TV getting into the broadcast business over the past five years with a business proposition that offers broadcast networks platform flexibility in exchange for a higher license fee. The indie studio is behind one of the biggest broadcast hits of that period, CBS’ Ghosts, and this pilot season, it is one of only three outside suppliers to land an order and the only one to snag two pilots, including ABC’s The Rookie: North, on which Lionsgate TV is the lead studio.
“Every deal with Lionsgate is hand-crafted,” one network source told Deadline in 2022 about the company’s business MO.
Other Lionsgate TV series on which Stern worked closely on the business side include Weeds, which ushered in a crop of comedic series with flawed female protagonists at the network; Nashville, whose business model had to be redrawn when it moved from ABC to CMT; and The Rainmaker, the only original scripted series on USA Network, which recently transitioned from NBCUniversal to spinoff company Versant. Lionsgate TV’s business spans streaming, broadcast, cable, FAST and digital media platforms.
“Sandra has been my friend, partner and protégé for the past 40 years,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said. “She is an amazing strategist with unparalleled relationships with our partners, and few people understand our business as well as she does. Sandra has been a pillar of our studio’s growth and success for 23 years. Whatever she chooses for the next phase of her career, she will remain a valued and cherished member of our Lionsgate family.”
Known for her expansive Hollywood relationships — as well as her dedication to philanthropy — Stern played a key role in Lionsgate’s acquisition and integration of eOne, which brought in a roster of series titles, including ABC’s The Rookie, the company’s majority stake acquisition in 3 Arts Entertainment, with is behind a string of series, including The Hunting Wives, as well as the minority investment in the UK-based talent management company 42, where she sits on the Board of Directors.
“I am so grateful to Jon for the empowerment, inspiration and support he has given me throughout my career as my boss, mentor and friend,” Stern said. “The 23 years I have spent with Jon, Kevin [Beggs] and the rest of the Lionsgate team have been the most personally and professionally rewarding for me, and the relationships I have formed and the friends I have made within my extended television family over my career made my decision to try something new a difficult one. But I know that I am leaving our Television Group in an incredibly strong position, with a great slate of series, a robust creative pipeline and an exceptional team of executives to move them forward, and I am excited to explore other passions and embark on new adventures beyond the world of television.”
English (US) ·