Middle East broadcasting group MBC has appointed Christina Wayne as the new managing director of its production arm, MBC Studios.

Wayne takes over from Peter Smith, who stepped down last week after four years at the helm of MBC Studios. During that time he helped launch the production arm of the free-to-air network MBC and led numerous flagship Arabic-language productions including Rashash, Rise of the Witches, and Devil’s Promise. Smith is a former president of NBC Universal International.

3. MBC Studios appoints Christina Wayne as managing director

Christina Wayne, MBC

Wayne was previously at Amazon Studios, working as head of originals for Canada and Australia. She joined in 2019, overseeing creative on original scripted series across more than 20 countries, and helped launch titles including LOL, The Kids In The Hall reboot and Three Pines before stepping down in September 2022.

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Prior to Amazon, she was CEO of New York-based production company Assembly Entertainment, president of Cineflix Studios (where she worked with Smith) and SVP of scripted series and miniseries for AMC, where she shepherded the development and production on series including Mad Men and Breaking Bad.

MBC Group CEO Sam Barnett said the company was “incredibly excited” by the appointment. “Christina brings with her a wealth of international expertise in content development and production where she has worked across a multitude of territories and languages, and led on the development of Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning series,” he said.

“We look forward to her building on the team’s successes as we continue to expand our horizons in international content even further.”

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