Fresh off the removal of Peter Rice, chairman of General Entertainment Content at Disney, the company announced that Meredith Roberts has been promoted to executive vice president, TV Animation, Disney Branded Television. The studio has 1200 half-hours of animated content currently in production for Disney’s streaming and linear platforms.
The announcement was made today at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in Annecy, France, by Ayo Davis, president, Disney Branded Television, to whom Roberts reports.
“A leader of incredible vision and a true champion of artistic talent, Meredith has set a new bar for Disney Television Animation, building upon the single greatest animation legacy in the world to lead a team that is creating the most innovative, magical animated storytelling in the business,” said Davis. “This well-deserved promotion is in recognition of not only her tremendous leadership and creativity but her ongoing commitment to advancing diverse, inclusive storytelling for audiences everywhere.”
Disney Television Animation, under Roberts’ management since 2018, oversees development and current animated content and production for kids 6-14 and families, including traditional 2D and CG series, movies and shorts distributed around the world via Disney+ and Disney Channel. During her tenure (in 2020), Disney Television Animation earned more Daytime Emmy(R) Award nominations than in its 38-year history.
Roberts has been particularly instrumental in solidifying Disney Television Animation as the home studio for creative talent, including Bruce W. Smith and Ralph Farquhar’s BAR Productions (“The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder”), Laurence Fishburne and Helen Sugland of Cinema Gypsy and Steve Loter (“Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur”), Dan Povenmire (“Hamster and Gretel,” “Phineas and Ferb”) and Natasha Kline (“Primos”).
