Morgan Wandell is exiting Apple TV as head of international development after nearly a decade at the company, and has launched his own production shingle, dubbed Kismet. The company will focus on producing premium scripted series for the international market.
Wandell announced the launch of his company, which will be based in Los Angeles, on Wednesday. The company said it will announce a leadership team and its initial slate at a later time.
In a press release, Wandell said that he’s launching production company focused on the growing international television market, he announced today.
Kismet will focus on developing and producing premium scripted series, with a particular emphasis on the growing international market, where audience demand for high-end, culturally rooted storytelling that travels globally continues to accelerate.
The company will be based in Los Angeles. Additional details, including the company’s leadership team and initial slate, will be announced in the coming months. “The opportunity to serve as an entrepreneur and producer in the growing white space for premium series for the global marketplace is one I couldn’t pass up and one that audiences are embracing,” Wandell said in a statement.
Wandell joined Apple TV before launch in October 2017, building out its international division. The slate he built included franchise tentpole “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” and its upcoming spin-off starring Wyatt Russell. Other projects developed under his watch include the thriller “Tehran,” the comedy “Acapulco,” Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks’ “Masters of the Air,” and Alfonso Cuarón’s “Disclaimer” and “The New Look.”
“Helping to build Apple TV’s international slate has been the privilege of my career,” said Wandell. “I’m deeply grateful to Jamie, Zack, and all my colleagues at Apple, and to the extraordinary creators we’ve partnered with around the world. It was a hard personal decision to make this leap from a company as terrific as Apple, but I have always wanted to build a company of my own.”
Wandell said he is in discussions with Apple TV to produce multiple projects for the streamer under his Kismet banner.
Before Apple, Wandell also ran Amazon’s drama dvision, and later created Amazon Studios’ international development team. While there, he oversaw series like “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Goliath,” “A Very English Scandal,” as well as helping launch “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” “The Man in the High Castle” and “Bosch.” He led Prime Video’s international expansion with India originals such as “The Family Man,” “Mirzapur” and “Made in Heaven.”
Wandell spent a large part of his career at ABC Studios, overseeing hits like “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Ugly Betty” and more.
