Kevin Berg Leaving CBS Studios After 25 Years As Production Is Consolidated Under Paramount TV Studios’ Liz Miller

Lynette Rice and Nellie Andreeva
·5 min read

EXCLUSIVE: Kevin Berg, a 25-year CBS veteran, is departing as Senior Executive Vice President, Production, CBS Network Television Entertainment.

The departure is part of the ongoing consolidation across CBS Studios with Paramount TV Studios, which started when the two studios were put under the purview of George Cheeks last October. Liz Miller, EVP and Head of Production for Paramount TV Studios — and a CBS Studios alum — will now oversee production for both studios.

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The move was outlined in an internal memo sent to staff by Bryon Rubin COO and CFO of CBS, to whom Miller reports, CBS Studios President David Stapf, and Paramount Television Studios President Nicole Clemens. There will be a period of transition with other changes likely; no layoffs are expected at this time.

In November, Cheeks, President and CEO, CBS, and Chief Content Officer, News and Sports, Paramount+, outlined his plan for the two studios, which included centralizing a number of its back-end functions by installing leaders across production, finance, law, business affairs and casting. At the time, it was announced that Berg would continue to oversee production for CBS Studios while Miller would do the same at PTVS. Production teams are now being combined in line with the consolidation in the other non-creative areas.

“Looking to the future, this move is an extension of the Studios Group vision that George outlined for us in November: two best-in-class brands with their own leaders and separate creative teams, bolstered by streamlined support operations,” Rubin, Stapf and Clemens wrote in the memo. (You can read it in full below.)

Berg, who went by the nickname “Dr. No” for his shrewd reputation of keeping costs under control, joined CBS in 1998 when the network’s fledgling production arm had three shows. He shepherded production around the world across all dayparts (morning, daytime, primetime and late-night) with the exception of news and sports. He was fiscally responsible for all production costs and schedules, and oversaw spending of more than $4 billion dollars in production costs a year.

The veteran executive was involved with the launch and continued success of Star Trek, CSI and NCIS franchises, along with such shows as Blue Bloods, Seal Team, The Good Fight, Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Talk, Big Brother, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Late Late Show with James Corden.

“Kevin’s monumental contributions to CBS’ success are far reaching and will be felt for years to come. We are grateful for his dedicated and valuable service to the company,” Rubin, Stapf and Clemens said.

At PTVS, Miller oversaw production on such series as Prime Video’s Jack Ryan and Paramount+’s Grease: Rise Of the Pink Ladies. She joined the studio in 2019 from Netflix, where she worked on such series as Bridgerton and Outer Banks. Prior to that, Miller was SVP of Production at CBS Studios, where she managed over 15 ongoing drama and comedy series, including The Good Wife, Hawaii Five-O, Magnum P.I., Blue Bloods and Madam Secretary, among others. Miller also contributed to the launch of the network’s streaming platform, CBS All Access with Star Trek: Discovery and The Good Fight.

“Liz is a tireless worker and an accomplished leader. She is a trusted partner with her counterparts at all the networks and streamers, as well as with producers across the globe, overseeing the production process as efficiently as possible, always with a smile and steady resolve,” Rubin, Stapf and Clemens

Here is their memo:

We are reaching out today to share news about a change in the leadership structure for our CBS Studios and Paramount TV Studios production teams. Beginning Monday, Liz Miller will add oversight of production at CBS Studios to become the singular leader of the production teams for both studios.

As many of you know, Liz currently oversees production at PTVS. She is also no stranger to everyone at CBS, having spent most of her career at CBS Studios before her time at Netflix and then PTVS.

Throughout her career, Liz’s work has covered a wide range of production for premium scripted programming across many platforms – from Jack Ryan to Grease:: Rise Of the Pink Ladies; from Bridgerton to Outer Banks; from The Good Wife to The Good Fight. She also helped CBS Studios mount its new Star Trek franchise with the launch of Star Trek: Discovery.

Liz is a tireless worker and an accomplished leader. She is a trusted partner with her counterparts at all the networks and streamers, as well as with producers across the globe, overseeing the production process as efficiently as possible, always with a smile and steady resolve.
As part of this restructuring, we are sadly saying goodbye to CBS Studios’ longtime production leader Kevin Berg.

Kevin started in production at CBS when we had a slate of only three shows, and he helped it expand to more than 70 series across scripted, unscripted, daytime and late-night programming. He was also the production executive behind two of the most popular and commercially successful franchises in modern television history – CSI and NCIS. Many at CBS will also remember Kevin for his tireless efforts masterfully leading Studio and Network productions through the Covid-19 crisis.
Kevin’s monumental contributions to CBS’ success are far reaching and will be felt for years to come. We are grateful for his dedicated and valuable service to the company.

Looking to the future, this move is an extension of the Studios Group vision that George outlined for us in November: two best-in-class brands with their own leaders and separate creative teams, bolstered by streamlined support operations.

A strong production team is essential to the success of our studios. It is the operational heartbeat that brings our scripts to life and delivers our shows to air. Every department in our company is connected to production in some way. We are confident that under Liz’s leadership and on the foundation Kevin set at CBS, the combined talents and resources of our teams will support both studios and their impressive slates at their customary high level, and continue to drive innovation for the future.

While Liz assumes her new responsibilities next week, there will obviously be a period of transition to this new structure. We appreciate everyone’s collaboration as always and will keep you updated as we move forward.

Please join us in congratulating and supporting Liz in her expanded role, and in thanking Kevin for his decades of production leadership at CBS.

Bryon, David and Nicole

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