Variety: Warner Bros. TV Group Lays Off 82 Staffers, Consolidates Some Unscripted and Animation Departments in Belt-Tightening Restructure

Story from Variety:

Warner Bros. Television Group handed out pink slips to 82 staffers on Tuesday, representing 19% of the studio’s workforce, across its scripted, unscripted and animation divisions. Additionally, it has opted not to fill 43 additional vacant positions — making for a total elimination of 125 jobs (or 26% of an approximately 481 headcount).

Warner Bros. TV Group declined comment, but it’s understood that chairman Channing Dungey detailed to staff a series of changes that included various levels of consolidation in unscripted and animation. Also, as reported Tuesday afternoon, the company has closed Stage 13, a shingle focused on diverse shortform programming (leading to the exit of Stage 13 head Diana Mogollón), and will end the Warner Bros. Television Workshop, which had existed for decades as a training ground for new creative talent in both writing and directing.

The layoffs were expected as the latest cost cutting move inside Warner Bros. Discovery, which merged in April and since then has attempted to make good on its mission to cut costs by $3 billion. It also comes just two years after a previous round of layoffs, under the WarnerMedia banner, had already cut into Warner Bros.’ workforce by at least 650 people.

More recently, in August, Warner Bros. Discovery eliminated around 70 jobs, or 14% of the workforce, from HBO and HBO Max, as the company prepares to merge HBO Max and Discovery+ into one streamer. Unscripted programming, scripted children’s and family fare, casting, international and acquisitions were hardest hit. And in September, Warner Bros. Discovery let go of 100 employees as part of the downsizing of the company’s ad sales departments.

As outlined on Tuesday, Dungey’s direct reports remain, as do the umbrella divisions that fall under the Warner Bros. TV Group banner — but more consolidation has occurred.

In the non-fiction space, Mike Darnell remains as president of Warner Bros. Unscripted Television and continues to report to Dungey; Warner Horizon Unscripted Television, Telepictures and Shed Media will continue as separate shingles under Darnell’s domain.

But with the announcement Monday that Warner Horizon Unscripted TV head Brooke Karzen was departing, some creative development and programming oversight will now be combined between Warner Horizon and Telepictures. (Warner Horizon productions fall under union work, while Telepictures is generally not under union rules.) With Karzen’s exit, Bridgette Theriault and Dan Sacks will now lead Warner Horizon, while David McGuire continues to lead Telepictures, and Lisa Shannon and Dan Peirson continue to run Shed Media.

Physical production, business affairs, and finance teams for unscripted programming had already been consolidated between Warner Horizon, Telepictures and Shed Media following the 2020 cuts.

With the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, Shed Media is expected to develop and produce more content for the Discovery networks, while overall Warner Bros.’ unscripted units will continue to sell to external platforms and create formats for international as well.

In animation, Sam Register will continue to oversee Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe. Those three labels will continue to exist, but development and main production teams for Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios will now merge (while Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe will maintain a separate team). The three shingles had already shared the same current programming, casting, legal/business affairs and artist relations teams.

Under the new setup, a kids and family series development team will be led by Audrey Diehl, adult animation development will be led by Peter Girardi, and animated longform series development will be led by Sammy Perlmutter, with Bobbie Page leading main production.

Despite the changes, output will remain the same as Cartoon Network Studios continues to produce original animated fare for internal outlets including Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and HBO Max. And with HBO Max moving away from adult animation, there will be a renewed push for producing for third-party networks and outside platforms as well. Warner Bros. Animation focuses on more pre-existing characters and IP.

Also under Dungey’s direct report, Warner Bros. TV president Brett Paul continues on the scripted side with no major structural changes beyond the closure of Stage 13 (which comes as the company decides to no longer invest in short-form production). The biggest change to scripted came back in 2020, when Warner Bros. TV and Warner Horizon Scripted TV were merged.

Meanwhile, as broadcasters pull back on their number of series and pilots — as it appears more likely that networks may reduce their primetime hours, and The CW shifts its focus under new ownership — Warner Bros. TV will likely reduce its roster in terms of writer deals as well.

Nonetheless, Warner Bros. TV is still aiming to be a major supplier of programming, first for its own sister platforms (the studio has 15 scripted and unscripted series currently with HBO Max, plus more than 20 animated shows) in addition to outside entities. Warner Bros. recently scored Emmys for “Ted Lasso,” which it produces for Apple TV+, and “Abbott Elementary,” which it produces for ABC. Warner Bros.’ scripted, unscripted and animated divisions count more than 120 shows in production for more than 20 different platforms.