Topic Studios President Maria Zuckerman to Exit

Brian Welk
·2 min read

Maria Zuckerman, the president of indie Topic Studios, is exiting her role after being with the studio since 2019.

It’s unclear where the executive will land or who her immediate replacement will be. Zuckerman joined Topic in 2019 as EVP and head of Topic Studios and reported to CEO Michael Bloom, and she was elevated to president last July.

“Maria has a fantastic creative sensibility with a keen commercial sense to match. Over the past three years, she and the studio team have accelerated Topic Studios’ growth into a world-class independent studio, attracting stellar talent, exciting voices, and spear-heading award-winning films, documentaries, series, and podcasts. We are grateful for all she did and wish her the very best in the future,” Bloom said in a statement.

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Zuckerman had led the company’s film, streaming and podcast slate and helped expand and reshape the studio by bringing in creators and collaborators such as Pablo Larraín, Destin Daniel Cretton, Awkwafina, Kevin Macdonald, Chris Smith, Nikyatu Jusu, Adam Leon and Toni Collette. In the podcast division, Zuckerman oversaw “Somebody,” which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Other films that Zuckerman oversaw included the Princess Diana film “Spencer” with Kristen Stewart and “The Mauritanian” with Jodie Foster. Three different projects that Topic developed or produced were also just nominated for Peabody Awards, including the documentaries “Attica,” “A Thousand Cuts” and “Nuclear Family.” They were also behind “Nanny,” which won the Jury Prize for a dramatic feature at this year’s Sundance.

Topic Studios recently announced the feature film “Theater Camp” alongside Picturestart and Gloria Sanchez productions, as well as the premieres of “God’s Time” and “Turn Every Page” at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.

Deadline first reported the news.

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