MRC rejig continues as Paramount alum named president of TV, Elise Henderson exits

The Great

Senior ranks at US entertainment studio MRC are changing again, with former Paramount TV Studios exec Jenna Santoianni joining as president of TV.

The incumbent Elise Henderson will exit after four years at the studio, where she has overseen a major expansion of scripted TV output, including titles such as Poker Face for Peacock, The Great for Hulu, The Shrink Next Door for Apple TV+ and The Terminal List for Amazon.

The change comes less than a week after chief business officer Scott Tenley was elevated to CEO of the company and founders Modi Wiczyk and Asif Satchu were named chairmen.

Santoianni’s appointment marks Tenley’s first executive move, with the exec expected to take on her new role this week. She will be responsible for MRC’s current programming and development slate, as well as its joint ventures, production partnerships, and TV studio units across production, business, legal affairs and finance.

Jenna Santoianni

Paramount cuts

Santoianni was laid off from Paramount TV Studios in November, where she had served as EVP of TV series and head of development for almost four years, and was a casualty of the company’s restructuring and subsequent redundancies.

During her time there, she oversaw development and production on shows including Made for Love, Station Eleven, Joe Pickett as well as the upcoming Fatal Attraction and Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies.

Prior to Paramount, Santoianni served as EVP of TV series at Sonar, working on titles such as Das Boot for Sky & Hulu, The Son for AMC and Taboo for FX.

“Jenna is an incredibly talented television executive with invaluable high-level experience and knowledge of all aspects of the industry, including development, production and packaging,” said Tenley.

“With sharp creative instincts, Jenna’s strength is her commitment to fostering a collaborative internal culture along with an impressive track record for producing groundbreaking and compelling series. She is that rare entrepreneurial leader who can help deliver the successful growth of our television slate for years to come.”