Disney’s Lauren Kisilevsky joins Hello Sunshine to lead family & kids push

Lauren Kisilevsky

Candle Media-owned Hello Sunshine has hired former Disney exec Lauren Kisilevsky to lead its kids and family division.

Kisilevsky will become EVP of live-action family, kids and young adults at Hello Sunshine, which was acquired by Candle for $900m in 2021.

She will work across movies and TV series, reporting into Hello Sunshine CEO, Sarah Harden.

Kisilevsky was most recently SVP of original movies at Disney Branded TV and had spent more than a decade with the Mouse House.

Her credits range from Zombies 2 and Upside Down Magic, to upcoming romantic comedy, Prom Pact. She also had stints at Beacon Pictures and Overture Films.

“Lauren is an expert developer who has consistently identified quality brand building material and IP for young audiences,” Harden said, describing Kisilevsky as having “a fantastic track record of developing and executing creatively distinctive projects with strong leadership.”

Reece Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine shut down it animation division earlier this year, with Candle preferring to use its Moonbug operation to focus on animated projects.

Hello Sunshine also recently expanded into the UK, hiring Channel 4 exec Sarah Lazenby, who departed the broadcaster last year, to lead the division.