Lionsgate has put its television studio under a development executive. Scott Herbst, with the company since 2018 and most recently executive VP of TV and head of development, has been promoted to president of Lionsgate Television Group. He now oversees all creative operations and continues to report to TV chairman Kevin Beggs.
Herbst’s elevation is not a clean break. Current programming head Lee Hollin and casting head Marcello Bellisario have signed new deals to stay in their roles, and TV music head Russell Ziecker will also report to Herbst. The studio is keeping its operating team intact while widening one executive’s mandate.
The slate behind the promotion
Herbst has been attached to a string of shows that do very different jobs for different buyers. The list runs across broadcast, cable and streaming:
- Apple TV+ — “The Studio,” an Emmy-winning comedy
- ABC — “The Rookie”
- CBS — “Ghosts”
- USA Network — “The Rainmaker”
- Netflix — “Midnight Sun,” a “Twilight” franchise adaptation in the works
Before Lionsgate, Herbst was VP of scripted programming for NBCUniversal International and began his career at Lakeshore Films.
What the move signals
For ScreenStat readers, the promotion is a signal about portfolio strategy. A development chief in the president’s seat usually means the studio wants to keep packaging new projects for multiple platforms rather than reorganising around one buyer.
That matters to media planners and entertainment marketers because Lionsgate’s current slate is deliberately spread across ad-supported broadcast, cable and subscription streaming. It also gives producers and agents a single creative filter to sell through.
Beggs called Herbst “expert in developing the bold, noisy shows that break through the clutter and resonate with today’s audiences.” Herbst framed the news as a chance to build on the team’s momentum.
The number to watch
There is no single ratings number in this story; the metric that matters is orders. The question for the next cycle is whether Herbst’s cross-platform slate converts into renewals and new series commitments at the same breadth.
The wider read: studios are under pressure to produce shows that travel between broadcast and streaming. Herbst’s promotion tells producers where taste and decision-making now cluster, and it keeps current programming and casting leaders on a clear reporting line. Watch Lionsgate’s next TV announcements to see whether it continues to balance procedural longevity, IP adaptation and comedy, or concentrates more heavily on the highest-margin streaming deals.
Source: Variety
