APPOINTMENT OF M-K KENNEDY

STUDIOCANAL announces the appointment of M-K Kennedy as Executive Managing Director of TV Series, on April 29th, 2024. She will report to Anna Marsh, STUDIOCANAL CEO and CANAL+ Group Deputy CEO.

STUDIOCANAL CEO Anna Marsh comments: “I am truly delighted to welcome the immensely talented M-K Kennedy to STUDIOCANAL to oversee our TV business, succeeding Francoise Guyonnet, whom I sincerely thank for her contribution in building such a strong, prosperous activity. M-K's in-depth experience and knowledge in Television production is second to none and she is an executive who demonstrates strong strategic vision. Throughout her career, M-K has garnered a stellar reputation within the industry and has established long-standing relationships with key talent that will continue to fuel our ambitious growth strategy. I am truly excited about the future of STUDIOCANAL TV under M-K's leadership.”

TV Series Executive Managing Director M-K Kennedy expands: “I’m thrilled to be joining Anna Marsh and the team at STUDIOCANAL during an exciting time of growth and expansion for the whole CANAL+ Group. The 14 production companies in the STUDIOCANAL TV Series family are gifted storytellers, and experts in their respective markets. I’m honored to join them and eager to contribute to their evolution. In my previous role, I witnessed how local stories can captivate audiences worldwide. STUDIOCANAL know that power and amplify those local stories via their strong distribution and international sales businesses, ensuring these stories find their audiences. I can’t wait to get started!”

M-K Kennedy will be based in London, an opportunity to establish a major foothold for STUDIOCANAL TV business in the UK.

STUDIOCANAL’s TV series journey began in 2016 and, through an inspired chain of partnerships and co-productions, the leading European studio has developed diverse and ambitious premium content across multiple genres.

From the outset, STUDIOCANAL’s TV series model was to establish a network of leading companies to create and deliver exceptional and relatable content with global appeal for international broadcasters. STUDIOCANAL identified a line-up of talented production houses based in different countries, each with a detailed knowledge of their domestic talent and ecosystem. STUDIOCANAL has enabled them to share their passion and tell beautifully authentic local stories with the rest of the world.

STUDIOCANAL currently has series in 16 languages, including English, French, Dutch, Spanish and Polish, produced either directly (such as two-time Emmy award-winner Paddington) or through its network of 14 award-winning production companies in 10 countries.

STUDIOCANAL has recently announced new series, PARIS HAS FALLEN, PLAYING NICE and FAMILIES LIKE OURS, which are all in post-production with a new CGI[1] animation series of MIFFY in early development.

[1] CGI : Computer-Generated Imagery

M-K KENNEDY’S BIOGRAPHY

Having spent the past seven years at Netflix, M-K was most recently the streamer’s Vice President of Production for Europe, based in Amsterdam. There, she built the Production teams responsible for Netflix' local-language series and films originating from France, Italy, Spain & Portugal, DACH and Nordics, including some of their biggest series like LUPIN, BERLIN, MACHOS ALFA, and LIEBES KIND and films like SOCIETY OF THE SNOW and ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT. When she first joined Netflix, she ran physical production for the service’s Spanish and Portuguese language series from Spain, and South America. She was the production executive on hits including LA CASA DE LAS FLORES, INGOBERNABLE, O MECANISMO, ELITE, LAS CHICAS DEL CABLE, DARK, and LA CASA DE PAPEL. In her time at the company, she was instrumental in building the Production teams in LATAM and EMEA and she was the driving force behind Netflix’ first European production hub outside of the UK in Madrid Content City. Prior to joining Netflix, Kennedy spent seven years in Los Angeles, at UCP and Universal Television where she was the production executive responsible for USA and Syfy shows like PSYCH, IN PLAIN SIGHT, and WAREHOUSE 13, and later numerous shows for NBC including GRIMM, MARLON, and THE SLAP. Her move to Los Angeles was preceded by a successful six-year run as a producer and executive at Telemundo Studios in Miami and, later, in Mexico City leading the team that created Telemundo Studios Mexico. She began her career in TV in Washington, DC as a Producer of the Hispanic Heritage Awards. A native of Bucaramanga, Colombia, Kennedy is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.

ABOUT STUDIOCANAL (a CANAL+ Company)

STUDIOCANAL, a 100% affiliate of CANAL+ Group held by Vivendi, is Europe’s leader in production, distribution and international sales of feature films and series, operating in all nine major European markets - France, United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Spain, and Benelux - as well as in Australia, in New Zealand and in the United States. It finances, produces, and distributes 80 films per year. It owns the largest catalogue in Europe and one of the most prestigious in the world, boasting around 9 000 titles from 60 countries, spanning 100 years of film history. Close to 25 million euros has been invested into the 4K restoration of nearly 1 000 classic feature films over the past 5 years. In addition, STUDIOCANAL also produces almost 20 series each year and operates at an international level by globally distributing its scripted productions and CANAL+ Originals (2,000 hours of current and library content in distribution). All productions take place directly through STUDIOCANAL entities or with its award-winning network of 14 production companies in Europe and in the United States: BAMBU PRODUCCIONES (SP), BIRDIE PICTURES (UK), DINGIE (NETH), LAILAPS FILMS (GER), OPUS TV (POL), RED PRODUCTION COMPANY (UK), SAM PRODUCTIONS (DEN), STRONG FILM & TELEVISION (UK), STUDIOCANAL ORIGINAL (FR), STUDIOCANAL SERIES (GER), SUNNY MARCH TV (UK), THE PICTURE COMPANY (US), URBAN MYTH FILMS (UK), 2E BUREAU (FR).

CONTACTS

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS: Elvire Charbonnel, elvire.charbonnel@canal-plus.com

GLOBAL PUBLICITY AND COMMUNICATIONS: Suzanne Noble, suzanne.noble@STUDIOCANAL.com