ABC Signature President Jonnie Davis Exiting

Peter White
·4-min read

Jonnie Davis is leaving ABC Signature.

Davis has been President of the Disney-owned studio since 2019.

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He said it has been a “privilege” to work on shows such as ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, FX’s Fleishman Is In Trouble and Hulu’s This Fool.

The move, however, is not a precursor to merging ABC Signature and 20th Television and, despite a multitude of rumors, they will continue to operate as two separate divisions. The company is currently searching for a replacement for Davis.

Davis’ departure is a surprise given how close he has been to Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Dana Walden.

When he moved from 20th Television to ABC Signature, he was able to lure a handful of big-name talents across with him include Drew Goddard and Octavia Spencer.

Davis took over the role of President of ABC Studios in July 2019, four months after Disney’s $71.3B of key Fox assets and the departure of then-President Patrick Moran.

He has overseen the company that makes ABC’s The Good Doctor, The Rookie and Station 19; Onyx Collective’s Reasonable Doubt and UnPrisoned; Apple TV+’s Five Days at Memorial and Bad Sisters; and Paramount+’s Criminal Minds: Evolution.

The company is also behind Amazon’s The Wilds, Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere and Tiny Beautiful Things, MGM+’s Godfather of Harlem, ABC’s The Rookie: Feds, and Nat Geo’s A Small Light.

The studio has deals with the likes of Alec Berg, Kerry Washington, Liz Tigelaar, Drew Goddard, Tony McNamara, Yara Shahidi, Natasha Rothwell, Phoebe Robinson, Bruce Miller, John Ridley and Tracee Ellis Ross.

Before becoming President of ABC Signature, Davis was President, Creative Affairs of 20th Century Fox Television (now 20th Television). He joined in 2008 as SVP Comedy Development. He helped develop shows such as NBC’s This Is Us and ABC’s Modern Family as well as its expansion into animation with Solar Opposites and Central Park.

Prior to that he was VP Comedy Development at Fox, having started in unscripted with shows such as The Simple Life, Joe Millionaire and American Idol.

Here is the note from Eric Schrier, President, Disney TV Studios and Global Original TV Strategy:

Team,

Jonnie Davis has made the decision to step down from his role as president of ABC Signature. Not only has Jonnie been an incredibly valued colleague, he has also served as a fantastic creative partner, collaborator and friend to so many. Jonnie is an exceptional person, and his unwavering support and positive energy will continue to inspire us. I hope you will all join me in expressing our gratitude to Jonnie for all of his contributions to ABC Signature and in wishing him continued success.

While news like this is never easy, I’m very confident in the leadership team we have in place, and I’m excited to work with them more closely until next steps are determined.

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or if there is anything you need.

Best,

Eric

Here is the note from From Jonnie Davis:

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share that I have made the decision to step down from my role as president of ABC Signature. It has been a privilege to work alongside all of you to deliver some of the most acclaimed and celebrated shows, like ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” FX’s “Fleishman is in Trouble” and Hulu’s “This Fool,” to name just a few, that captivate, inspire and reflect the audiences that we so proudly serve every day. I’m forever grateful to Dana Walden and Eric Schrier for the wonderful opportunity to lead this world-class studio. And while I will, of course, miss this outstanding team, after doing this job for over 20 years, I’m looking forward to figuring out my next creative challenge.

As I begin to reflect on my time here, I can’t think about our many successes without picturing people like you, who deliver the passion and dedication that drives our business. Each of you have played a role in making my experience at ABC Signature truly memorable and I will be cheering on the entire Disney Television Studios organization as you charge forward.

With thanks and gratitude,

Jonnie

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