Hulu has hired AMC’s Joel Stillerman to be its first chief content officer, the company announced Wednesday. He’ll join the streaming service’s senior management team, overseeing Hulu’s overall content business and strategy.
Craig Erwich will remain a senior vice president, focusing on original programming. Stillerman will report to company CEO Mike Hopkins.
Stillerman, who is relocating to Los Angeles for the gig, joins Hulu from AMC Networks, where he was the president of Original Programming and Development for AMC and SundanceTV.
During his near-decade-long tenure, Stillerman oversaw shows like “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead,” among others. Before that job, he already had more than 20 years of experience developing, producing and writing for film and television.
“This year is a transformative year for Hulu — not just in our products, but also our investment in acquired and original content,” Hopkins said in a media release. “Over the past several years, we’ve grown our audience and our content offering exponentially, and now is the right time to add Joel’s creative and strategic leadership to the team and drive the next phase of Hulu’s content business.”
AMC president Charlie Collier issued his own statement of support for the move. “It has been an absolute pleasure working with Joel Stillerman for the last near-decade,” he said. “Joel has played a major role in the transformation of AMC from a movie channel into an established leader in original programming. We wish him nothing but the best in his move to the West Coast, his future endeavors with our partner, Hulu, and — perhaps most challenging — his search to replace his New Jersey bowling team, the Emus, who will surely miss him as much as we will.”
AMC Networks is searching for a replacement head of programming for AMC and SundanceTV. In the interim, Stillerman’s old crew — including the heads of scripted, nonfiction and international co-productions/acquisitions — will report to Collier.