After 20 years with the Paramount brand, MTV Entertainment Studios president Keith Cox is stepping down from his role.
Paramount Television Studios President Matt Tournell and Cox announced the news Thursday in a memo to Paramount employees obtained by Variety. Paramount Television Studios vice presidents Antonia Coveaux and Todd Baynes, who report directly to Cox, will now report to programming executive Carolyn Harris, Thunell said.
Cox, best known as the executive who picked up Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone” on Paramount Network and began one of the most important creator relationships in Paramount’s history, joined the company (then Viacom) in 2006 on the TV Land network.
His departure comes on the heels of Mr. Sheridan moving his entire contract to NBCUniversal last fall, and as Paramount-Skydance prepares to integrate yet another company into its fold with the pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
“Throughout his long tenure, Keith helped oversee countless successful and culturally influential series across Paramount’s portfolio,” Tunnell said. “He was an early champion of Taylor Sheridan and helped bring Yellowstone to the Paramount Network, where Yellowstone became cable’s top scripted show and launched a franchise. He played a key role in expanding the Taylorverse with films such as The Landman, 1883, 1923, Tulsa King, The Mayor of Kingstown, The Lioness, and Madiso He played a key role in the expansion of the Taylorverse. He also helped launch Jez Butterworth’s string of successful series at Paramount+, including Mobland and The Agency, and Keith played a fundamental role in the scripted success of MTV Entertainment Studios.
In addition to leading Sheridanvers and partnering with Paramount Network (formerly Spike TV in Cox’s early days), Paramount+ and CBS’s 101 Studios, he’s also responsible for the mainline “Yellowstone” shows as well as “Madison,” “The Landman,” the upcoming “Dutton Ranch,” “The Mayor of Kingstown,” “The Lioness,” “The Marshalls” and “Tulsa King.” Paramount-produced hits include TV Land’s “Younger” and “Hot in Cleveland,” starring Betty White, and Netflix’s “Emily in Paris,” from creator Darren Star.
Other notable projects created under Cox’s direction include Jez Butterworth’s “MobLand” and “The Agency.”
“Having the opportunity to identify, develop and produce shows alongside creators like Darren, Taylor and Jez has made this chapter of my career so fulfilling,” Cox wrote in his message. “But equally fulfilling is working closely with my creative partners Antonia Covoto and Todd Baynes. They’ve been on this journey with me since the beginning, and I know they’ll continue to guide these shows.”
Cox began his Hollywood career working on multi-cam and single-cam comedies at Warner Bros., where he was promoted to vice president of comedy and aired 22 sitcoms.
Read Mr. Tournell’s internal memo announcing Mr. Cox’s resignation, obtained by Variety, below.
team,
We reached out to share the news with you about our wonderful colleague Keith Cox. After 20 years of valuable contribution, Keith has decided to step away from his role at the studio.
Throughout his long tenure, Keith helped oversee countless successful and culturally influential series across Paramount’s portfolio. He was an early champion of Taylor Sheridan and helped bring Yellowstone to Paramount Network, where it became cable’s top scripted show and launched the franchise. He played a key role in expanding the Taylorverse, including “The Landman,” “1883,” “1923,” “Tulsa King,” “The Mayor of Kingstown,” and “Lioness,” as well as recent hits such as “Madison” and “The Marshalls.” And Dutton Ranch, which will soon debut. He also helped launch Jez Butterworth’s string of successful series on Paramount+, including MobLand and The Agency. Keith has played a fundamental role in the scripted success of MTV Entertainment Studios.
Additionally, Keith has helped develop and launch a wide range of outstanding series across Paramount Network and TV Land. These include TV Land’s signature originals Hot in Cleveland and Younger. These helped redefine the network’s scripted identity. Netflix also includes Emily in Paris, which later became a global hit.
Keith has worked closely with some of the biggest showrunners in the industry, including Darren Star, Terry Winter and Jez Butterworth, as well as long-time partner David Glasser and 101 Studios.
Most importantly, Keith is a respected leader and has been a great partner to Dana and I since our first days at Paramount. We are grateful for his leadership, collaboration and the impact he has had on our team, creative partners and franchise.
Over the next few weeks, Keith will be working on the transition with Todd Baynes and Antonia Coveaux, the talented senior creative team who have been driving success with Keith and his partners at 101 Studios. Antonia and Todd will continue to work closely with me and report directly to Carolyn Harris, who is currently our Head of Series.
Please extend our thanks to Keith for his many contributions. I wish you all the best and I will miss you very much.
mat
See Cox’s own memo to employees below.
As we celebrate 20 years with this great company, we wanted to express our gratitude as we move on to the next chapter.
Twenty years ago this month, I packed up and moved to New York City to join Viacom and work for the TV Land network. At the time, Viacom’s channels were ramping up their original programming, and since TV Land was home to some of the most famous comedies of all time, the company decided to try its hand at original comedy of its own.
We came out of the gate with the incredibly successful “HOT IN CLEVELAND.” The night we shot the pilot, when Betty White took the stage, the audience gave her a standing ovation that lasted for what seemed like 10 minutes. We knew we had something special that night. HOT IN CLEVELAND ran for six seasons, won multiple awards, helped establish TV Land as a legitimate original programming destination, and paved the way for its first single-camera comedy, YOUNGER.
Created by the iconic Darren Star, YOUNGER ran for seven seasons and became one of the studio’s signature shows. Darren has already created several global TV hits, so it was very rewarding to work with him on a new TV show. That creative relationship ultimately led us to EMILY IN PARIS, which we sold to Netflix and became one of the most successful comedy series in the world. I remain incredibly proud of the team that helped make this series special, both creatively and behind the scenes.
And so 2018 began. The company decided to rebrand Spike to Paramount Network and Bob Bakish asked me to lead development under Kevin Kaye. While this is a great honor, we knew we needed to create a foundation that would allow us to make an immediate impact and redefine the network.
At a breakfast meeting with David Glasser, Kevin and I heard a pitch that was described as “The Godfather of Montana.” We immediately saw the potential. A month later, we met Taylor Sheridan and bought YELLOWSTONE in the room.
What happened next was more than we could have imagined. Yellowstone became the number one scripted show on television and later launched what Chris McCarthy called the Taylorverse. With Taylor at our core, we’ve built one of the most compelling lineups in television. Mayor of Kingston, Lioness, Tulsa King, Landman, Madison, 1883, 1923, CBS mega-hit Marshalls, and the upcoming Dutton Ranch.
One of the things I’m most proud of is how actively and passionately this company has supported these shows from the beginning. As a result of talented teams from all departments working in the same direction, we have been able to launch an unprecedented number of successful series in an incredibly short period of time.
Most recently, our expansion into London has brought us another great creator, Jez Butterworth. Through our partnership with David Glasser, we brought Jez to a comprehensive deal that led to the critically acclaimed THE AGENCY and MOBLAND.
Having the opportunity to identify, develop and produce these shows alongside creators like Darren, Taylor and Jez has made this chapter of my career so fulfilling. But equally fulfilling is working closely with my creative partners Antonia Covoto and Todd Baynes. They’ve been on this journey with me since the beginning, and I know they’ll continue to guide these shows.
With Dana and Matt at the studio and Cindy, Jane and Chris at Paramount+, we believe these shows and series will continue to be successful. They care deeply about the work, the creators, and the audience.
I’m sorry if this farewell sounds like an IMDb page, but these shows were never just titles. It was years of collaboration, creative risk-taking, faith, hard work, and friendship. Our show defines our company, and our company is defined by its employees.
What I will miss most are the people who have made the last 20 years so memorable.
With that in mind, I would like to thank you for the wonderful 20 years.
keith
