The Mouse House has tapped Angela Jain, director of unscripted at ITV Studios, for the newly created role as Disney+’s head of content in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.Jain will effectively replace Liam Keelan, who stepped down in October last year, though her role is more senior, and Disney has switched reporting lines as part of efforts to boost international originals.Joining in September, Jain will report to Eric Schrier, president of Disney Television Studios and Global Original Television Strategy. Keelan’s boss was Diego Londono, now SVP of networks and sports.She will oversee a unit that has delivered series including Rivals and Extraordinary, which helped Disney+ to a record 15 BAFTA TV Awards nominations earlier this year.Jain, a straight-talking, well-liked executive, has been linked with a string of major content roles in recent years, with her journey to Disney marking a return to commissioning following spells at UK youth channels E4 and ITV2.During her time as a commissioner, she greenlit series including Misfits; The Inbetweeners, which spawned two movies; and Deadset, a drama about a zombie apocalypse in the Big Brother house from Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker.Jain has worked at ITV Studios since 2016, originally heading up ITV Studios Entertainment (later rebranded as Lifted Entertainment) before being elevated to director of unscripted in 2022. She oversees 11 production labels, producing shows including Love Island and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!.Disney aimed high in its efforts to replace Keelan. Deadline revealed last year that the streaming service made an audacious bid to poach Charlotte Moore, but the former BBC content chief ultimately opted to join Left Bank Pictures. Other names on Disney’s radar included Netflix UK chief Anne Mensah and Polly Hill, ITV’s head of drama.Schrier said Jain’s “expertise and experience will help build on our recent success and elevate our storytelling, bringing customers more local stories.” Jain said joining Disney was an “irresistible opportunity,” adding that the vision to expand original production was “invigorating.”Julian Bellamy, managing director of ITV Studios, said she had been a “fantastic leader” over the past eight years. Jain said she would “miss enormously the most incredible and dedicated production teams, colleagues and friends.”Jain will be replaced by Tim Carter, currently CEO of ITV Studios’ MultiStory Media and Twofour. He will report to Bellamy, overseeing labels that make series including Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge and Apple TV+’s The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy.“What an honor,” Carter said. “The ITV Studios’ non-scripted slate reads like a roll-call of the nation’s favourite shows and the breadth and depth of creative and production talent across the group is staggering.”
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