Story from Deadline:
Mike Darnell, the preeminent — and most colorful — unscripted TV executive over the past couple of decades, will be leaving his post as President Of Unscripted Television for Warner Bros. after 10 years at the studio.
In a lengthy statement Darnell, who has been responsible for 50,000 hours of television to date, said that he was approached by Channing Dungey, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. Television Group, a couple of months ago about continuing but he ultimately made “the “difficult” decision to leave as staying “would have meant more changes for both my personal deal and to the general structure of the division.”
Also factoring into Darnell’s call to depart Warner Bros. was the fact that “a couple of new ventures have come my way” while he was in discussions with Dungey about a new contract.
In her own lengthy statement Dungey, who called Darnell “an industry legend” and “genius,” admitted that she “had hoped we would continue to work together, but I understand Mike’s decision to leave.”“In his 10 years with WBTVG, he truly supercharged the unscripted department by more than doubling the series output, making Warner Bros. the top unscripted studio in America for seven straight years,” she said.I hear the initial approach by Dungey came a year before Darnell’s current contract was set to expire, which is standard for someone at Darnell’s level. Ultimately, Darnell and the studio could not make a new deal as he was uncomfortable with the proposed changes in the structure, both for him personally and for the group he leads, I hear.The Warner Bros. unscripted TV division, which Darnell essentially launched when he joined the studio a decade ago, has gone through four restructurings, including layoffs and cost reductions, during his tenure. Given the continuing push for cuts by all media companies — and particularly Warner Bros. Discovery which has been trying to generate cash and reduce debt post merger — the proposed new structure is believed to involve more streamlining.
The President role held by Darnell is not expected to continue following his exit; the new structure will likely be revealed in the coming weeks. Darnell will stay on for a few months to help with the transition, I hear, and may get a going away party.As for those “new ventures” Darnell alluded to as opportunities that enticed him to leave, I hear one of them may involve him getting financial backing to buy a business. While his next work destination is still unclear, part of the decor in his new office is — he is expected to take his beloved piano, which he brought to Warner Bros. from Fox — with him where he goes.
Darnell’s departure is a big deal not only because of his stature in the industry but because of the fact that he rarely changes jobs. Before joining Warner Bros. TV to reunite with then-studio boss Peter Roth, he had only worked at Fox, first at the local LA station KTTV and Fox Television Stations and then at the broadcast network for 18 years as head of unscripted, launching a slew of hits, some of which are still on the air, including the MasterChef franchise, Hell’s Kitchen, So You Thing You Can Dance, American Idol (which moved to ABC),Temptation Island (revived by USA) as well as animated series he was involved in, Family Guy and Futurama.By his second year at Warner Bros., Darnell had more than doubled the studio’s unscripted output, making the company the number one studio supplier of unscripted series in the country. In addition to shepherding flagships The Voice and The Bachelor franchise, during his 10 years at the studio, Darnell oversaw hundreds of unscripted series on all the major broadcast networks, 25 different cable channels, every major streaming platform, and first-run syndication, launching The Jennifer Hudson Show. He also expanded the unit into the digital space (the app and website Ellentube) and games (the free game app Heads Up!), and recently expanded into high-end documentaries a dozen on the current slate, including sales at Netflix, Apple, Paramount+, HBO Sports, and Max.One of Darnell’s biggest accomplishments at Warner Bros. was the Friends reunion, something considered almost impossible to pull off because of its complexities. He set out to do it on Day 1 of his tenure and ultimately accomplished the feat seven and a half years later after a pandemic-related delay.Darnell is leaving Warner Bros. TV at a challenging time for the unscripted business where retaining ownership is virtually unattainable outside of the broadcast networks which present other challenges related to declining license fees tied to diminishing linear ratings.The division also had to pivot multiple times, once under the previous WarnerMedia regime where the studio was given mandate to shift focus almost entirely to supplying streaming sibling Max (then HBO Max). That strategy was abandoned by the new Warner Bros. Discovery leadership as the merger brought in Discovery’s unscripted operations.
His tenures at Fox and Warner Bros. gave Darnell different perspectives and provided him with experience as both a buyer and a seller, something he will take with him to his next venture.