Former Paramount Television Studios executive Jenna Santoianni has joined MRC as President of Television. She will replace Elise Henderson who is leaving the company after a four-year stint. The personnel change comes on the heels of Scott Tenley’s elevation to CEO as part of a new executive structure the studio announced last week, with co-founders Modi Wiczyk and Asif Satchu assuming the new roles of Chairmen. (Jonathan Golfman and Brye Adler continue as co-Presidents of Film and Amit Dey as Head of Non-Fiction.)
This marks the first executive move by Tenley and comes amid a major TV ramp-up at the indie studio over the past few years under Henderson with such series as Peacock’s breakout hit Poker Face, Hulu’s The Great, Prime Video’s The Terminal List and a recently greenlit prequel, Apple TV+’s The Shrink Next Door, Shining Girls and Hello Tomorrow!. The company also has a slew of high-profile projects in the pipeline.
Santoianni exited as EVP Television Series and Head of Development for Paramount TV Studios as part of the November company restructuring and related layoffs, getting the news that her position was being eliminated as she was about to give birth.
During her close-to-four-year tenure at PtvS, Santoianni oversaw development and production of such series as Made for Love, Station Eleven, Joe Pickett, The Offer and the upcoming Fatal Attraction and Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies. She rose to prominence during her five-year stint as EVP TV Series at Sonar, fielding a slew of series for the indie studio, including Das Boot (Sky/Hulu), The Son (AMC), Taboo (FX), The Shannara Chronicles (MTV/Paramount Network), Lorena (Amazon), Hunters (Amazon) and Mr. Mercedes (DirecTV).
In her new role, Santoianni will oversee MRC’s current programming, its slate of development, all joint ventures and production partnerships, as well as all of the television studio’s operational units, including production, business and legal affairs and production finance. She is expected to start this week.
“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.”
Santoianni began her career at the desk of CAA agent Beth Swofford.
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