Disney+’s ‘Extraordinary’ & ‘Wedding Season’ Exec Johanna Devereaux Joins Apple TV+

Max Goldbart
·2 min read
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Disney+ UK scripted exec Johanna Devereaux has swapped the Mouse House for Apple TV+.

Devereaux, who was VP of Scripted Content and DE&I Strategy and has been a driving force behind Disney+’s scripted content outside the U.S., will join Apple TV+ Europe boss Jay Hunt’s scripted development team.

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She will work in a drama team that has greenlit hits such as Slow Horses, Hijack and Bad Sisters.

At Disney, she had a hand in the launch of 34 originals including the likes of Extraordinary, Wedding Season and The Good Mothers. She worked in Liam Keelan’s team and closely with fellow scripted exec Lee Mason, the former It’s a Sin commissioner, while also overseeing the streamer’s EMEA inclusion policy.

Going forwards, Mason will lead the team featuring Jonny Richards and Hannah Scott, with Mason assuming all responsibility for projects set to launch from January onwards as well as the full scripted development slate. Devereaux’s DEI responsibilities will be split between Mason for scripted and Sean Doyle for unscripted.

Before working for Disney, she was Director of Development for ABC Studios International, responsible for establishing the studio’s first scripted strategy outside of North America and building a slate across EMEA and APAC, spearheading series including Harrow and The Gloaming.

The news comes a few months after Deadline revealed Apple UK drama exec Kim Varvell was exiting to set up a Banijay-backed drama indie. The Apple scripted team is also comprised of former Channel 4 commissioner Fiona McDermott, BBC Films alum Joe Oppenheimer and former Wall to Wall Head of Drama Development Tom Williams.

“I am enormously proud of what we’ve achieved over the past four years: producing and launching the first slate of EMEA originals for Disney+ has been the experience of a lifetime,” said Devereaux. “I will always be grateful to Liam Keelan who has led the Originals team with unfailing integrity and vision, and to Lee Mason, Sean Doyle, and the brilliant Originals gang across the region – their creativity and kindness have been an inspiration. Disney+ has some truly amazing UK and European series in the pipeline, and I’ll be cheering them on every step of the way.”

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