Jenny Groom has been appointed head of MGM Alternative at Amazon MGM Studios, Variety reported. She will report to nonfiction chief Jenn Levy and is scheduled to start on November 30, after Thanksgiving.
A remit spanning franchises and new development
In a staff memo reproduced by Variety, Levy said Groom would oversee established titles including Survivor, Shark Tank and The Voice, as well as the company’s international format library.
Her responsibilities also include developing new formats and series for Prime Video and driving sales to third-party outlets. Levy highlighted Groom’s experience on both the commissioning and selling sides of unscripted television as relevant to those goals.
Groom most recently served as executive vice president of unscripted development at BBC Studios, which she joined the previous year. Her work there included Nation’s Dumbest for Fox and Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro for ABC. The memo also credited her team with securing development and pilot agreements across broadcast and streaming.
Extensive experience at NBCUniversal
Before BBC Studios, Groom spent nearly two decades at NBCUniversal, latterly as executive vice president of unscripted programming. Her portfolio included The Traitors, Love Island, The Voice, America’s Got Talent and American Ninja Warrior.
Other programmes associated with her work included The Wall, Password with Keke Palmer, Baking It with Amy Poehler and That’s My Jam with Jimmy Fallon. Beyond NBCUniversal, she consulted for Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Productions.
Levy’s memo also identified Groom as an executive producer of Netflix’s Funny AF with Kevin Hart. Her new role brings that development and commissioning background to MGM’s existing brands and future slate.