Marc Buhaj, Senior Vice President of Programming and General Manager of Disney XD, has been named Vice President of Unscripted Series and Specials for Disney Branded Television.
Photo Source: Digital-News
What’s Happening:
- According to Deadline, Disney has transitioned Marc Buhaj away from his role leading Disney XD into the role of Vice President of Unscripted Series and Specials for Disney Branded Television.
- The role was previously occupied by Dan Silver, who exited Disney in December for Netflix amidst broad changes to Disney’s content creation divisions.
- In his new role, Buhaj will oversee the creation of documentaries, docu-series, variety and specials for Disney’s networks and streaming services reporting to Ayo Davis, EVP, Creative Development and Strategy for Disney Branded Television.
- Buhaj will lead a team that includes:
- Nicole Silveira, director, Unscripted Formats
- Marjon Javadi, director, Documentaries and Docu-series
- Meghan de Boer, director, Variety and Specials
- Jordan Gilbert, director, Short-Form
- Marc Buhaj joined Disney in 2007 as SVP of Programming for Jetix Europe, which influenced Disney’s decision to convert the Toon Disney network into Disney XD, a more action-oriented kid-oriented channel.
- With Disney announcing the end of both Big Hero 6, The Series and DuckTales, Disney XD will no longer have any recurring original programming on the network.
What They’re Saying:
- Ayo Davis, EVP, Creative Development and Strategy for Disney Branded Television: “Marc will align our great strengths to support our great opportunities – he is an intuitive leader and strategic thinker with a deep appreciation for creative storytelling, and he now gains a highly effective team with complementary strengths. His knowledge of the most effective ways to reflect and extend our core brands makes him ideally suited to propel their work and meet the needs of our viewers who want quality, innovative and appealing programs wherever they are watching our content.”
- Marc Buhaj, Vice President of Unscripted Series and Specials for Disney Branded Television: “I’m excited by the opportunity to work with this talented team to realize the full potential of unscripted storytelling for Disney+ and Disney Channels. The development slate is deep, and we will continue to actively innovate and evolve the genre. Disney+ is the home of the most ambitious unscripted content with family, community and optimism at its core. We look forward to partnering with incredible storytellers around the world to inspire and delight new viewers, as well as fans of our premium brands.”