Lord Miller Taps Karim Zreik As Head Of Television

Nellie Andreeva
·4 min read

Click here to read the full article.

EXCLUSIVE: Longtime Marvel TV executive Karim Zreik has joined Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Lord Miller production company as EVP of Television. He will lead the banner’s television team, which includes VP of Television Aubrey Lee, in developing live-action and animated projects and championing new voices for network, cable and streaming platforms.

The well liked Zreik will spearhead the programming slate under Oscar-winning writers/directors/producers Lord and Miller’s big five-year overall deal with Sony Pictures Television which calls for Lord Miller to develop live-action and animated shows, including a suite of TV series based on Sony’s Universe of Marvel characters, which had been a priority for SPT.

More from Deadline

Zreik’s extensive Marvel TV background makes him a suitable partner to the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse duo in plotting a Marvel programming strategy.

He joins Lord Miller after twenty-five years with the Walt Disney Co., most recently as SVP of Original Programming and Production for Marvel Television Studios. He was a key senior executive at Marvel Television for the division’s entire existence and beyond. There, he was responsible for overseeing live-action and animated television content including managing production and post production for all platforms within the Disney umbrella and beyond, including Legion (FX), The Gifted (Fox Network), Runaways, M.O.D.O.K, Hit Monkey & Helstrom (Hulu), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC) and Cloak & Dagger (Freeform).

Zreik and his Original Programming team also oversaw all 161 episodes of Marvel’s Netflix slate of programming which included Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders and Punisher. When Marvel TV was shut down last December, Zreik stayed on, and along with members of his team, joined the Marvel Studios group to oversee the remaining Marvel TV shows already in the pipeline. He left the studio earlier this month to join Lord Miller.

Before his Marvel TV tenure, Zreik spent more than a decade as co-head of Jon Turteltaub’s Junction Entertainment banner, which had overall deals at ABC Studios and CBS Paramount Network Television. The TV series and features he worked on during his tenure include CBS’ Jericho and Harper’s island, USA’s Common Law as well as the National Treasure movie franchise, The Kid, Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Last Vegas.

“Karim is a pro’s pro with broad experience, great instincts, a big heart and a collaborative spirit, qualities we are dying to exploit for our own personal gain” said Lord and Miller. “We love partnering with people who think outside the box and Karim’s innovation and creative relationships have brought hundreds of viewing hours to audiences around the world. We are two of his biggest fans and have spent countless hours consuming the content he has been behind so we are thrilled to have the chance to cut out the middle man and have him join the Lord Miller team.”

Lord Miller just landed its first series order under the Sony TV deal for The Afterparty, a murder mystery comedy, picked up by Apple with a straight-to-series order.

“I’m so grateful for the years I’ve spent at the Walt Disney Company,” Zreik said. “The experience and knowledge I’ve gained there is truly invaluable and has been key in preparing me for this exciting next chapter. Lord Miller is constantly pushing creative boundaries and has consistently proven that the best work comes from stepping beyond our comfort zones. It’s that passion for creative innovation and commitment to collaboration that makes this such an exciting opportunity and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be joining such a forward thinking team.”

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.