20th Television’s drama development head Michelle Mendelovitz to exit

Michelle Mendelovitz

20th Television’s SVP & head of drama development Michelle Mendelovitz is leaving the company after less than two years in the role.

Mendelovitz joined from Apple TV+ in March 2020, a year after Disney acquired the studio from Fox as part of a $71bn deal.

Since her arrival, 20th Television has been completely restructured: the Mouse House rebranded the division from 20th Century Fox Television in August 2020 before a major consolidation later that year saw the Touchstone TV label closed and merged with Mendelovitz’s division.

During her 20th Television tenure, Mendelovitz worked on shows including Spiderwick Chronicles for Disney+ and Washington Black for Hulu.

She also secured the services of Ron Moore on Disney+ series Swiss Family Robinson and A Court Of Thorns And Roses, which is destined for Hulu.

Prior to 20th Television, Mendelovitz had worked on shows including Defending Jacob, Servant and Moore’s For All Mankind at Apple TV+. Before that, she was SVP of scripted at Sony Pictures Television and also had a stint at CBS.