After 20 years with Paramount brands, MTV Entertainment Studios president Keith Cox is stepping down from his position.
Paramount Television Studios president Matt Thunell and Cox announced the news in notes to Paramount employees Thursday, which were obtained by Variety. Per Thunell, Cox’s direct reports, Paramount Television Studios vice presidents Antonia Covault and Todd Baynes will now report to head of Current programming, Carolyn Harris.
Best known for being the executive to pick up Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone” at Paramount Network, and kick off one of the most important creator relationships in the history of Paramount, Cox got his start with the company (then Viacom) in 2006 at TV Land network.
His exit comes on the heels of Sheridan moving his overall deal to NBCUniversal last fall, and as Paramount Skydance prepares to integrate yet another company into the fold upon its pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
“Over his long tenure, Keith helped oversee countless successful and culturally impactful series across the Paramount portfolio,” Thunell said. “He was an early champion of Taylor Sheridan and helped bring Yellowstone to Paramount Network, where it went on to become the top scripted show on cable and launched a franchise. He played an important role in the expansion of the Taylorverse, including Landman, 1883, 1923, Tulsa King, Mayor of Kingstown, and Lioness, as well as more recent hits like The Madison and Marshals; and the soon-to-debut Dutton Ranch. He also helped launch Jez Butterworth’s successful slate of series with Paramount+, including MobLand and The Agency. Keith has played a foundational role in MTV Entertainment Studios’ scripted success.”
Along with shepherding the Sheridanverse and partnership with 101 Studios at Paramount Network (formerly Spike TV in Cox’s early days), Paramount+ and CBS — which beyond the mainline “Yellowstone” shows includes “The Madison,” “Landman,” the upcoming “Dutton Ranch,” “Mayor of Kingstown,” “Lioness,” “Marshals” and “Tulsa King” — he’s also responsible for Paramount-produced hits including TV Land’s “Younger” and “Hot in Cleveland” with Betty White and Netflix’s “Emily in Paris” from creator Darren Star.
Additional notable projects created under Cox’s watch include Jez Butterworth’s “MobLand” and “The Agency.”
“Getting the opportunity to identify, develop, and produce these shows with creators like Darren, Taylor, and Jez is what has made this chapter of my career so fulfilling,” Cox wrote in his own message. “But equally fulfilling has been working closely with my creative partners Antonia Covault and Todd Baynes, who have been on this journey with me since the beginning, and who I know will continue to shepherd these shows moving forward.”
Cox began his Hollywood career working on multi-cam and single-came comedies at Warner Bros, where he rose to vice president of comedy and boasted 22 sitcoms on the air.
Read Thunell’s internal memo announcing Cox’s departure, which was obtained by Variety, below.
Team,
I’m reaching out to share some news with you regarding our wonderful colleague Keith Cox. Keith has made the decision to move on from his role with the studio after 20 years of invaluable contributions.
Over his long tenure, Keith helped oversee countless successful and culturally impactful series across the Paramount portfolio. He was an early champion of Taylor Sheridan and helped bring Yellowstone to Paramount Network, where it went on to become the top scripted show on cable and launched a franchise. He played an important role in the expansion of the Taylorverse, including Landman, 1883, 1923, Tulsa King, Mayor of Kingstown, and Lioness, as well as more recent hits like The Madison and Marshals; and the soon-to-debut Dutton Ranch. He also helped launch Jez Butterworth’s successful slate of series with Paramount+, including MobLand and The Agency. Keith has played a foundational role in MTV Entertainment Studios’ scripted success.
Additionally, Keith has been instrumental in the development and launch of a wide range of standout series across Paramount Network and TV Land. These include TV Land’s signature originals Hot in Cleveland and Younger, which helped redefine the network’s scripted identity, and on Netflix, Emily in Paris, which went on to become a global hit.
Keith has worked closely alongside some of the industry’s biggest showrunners, including Darren Star, Terry Winter, and Jez Butterworth, while also collaborating with longtime partner David Glasser and 101 Studios.
Most importantly, Keith is a respected leader and has been an incredible partner to both Dana and me from our first days at Paramount. We are grateful for his leadership, collaboration, and the impact he has had on our teams, creative partners, and franchises.
Over the next few weeks, Keith will work on a transition with his talented senior creative team, Todd Baynes and Antonia Covault, who have been shepherding these successes alongside Keith and our partners at 101 Studios. Both Antonia and Todd will continue to work closely with me, and will now report to Carolyn Harris, Head of Current Series.
Please join me in thanking Keith for his many contributions. We wish you the best and will miss you deeply!
Matt
See Cox’s own note to employees below.
As I mark my two decades at this amazing company, I wanted to send a note of thanks as I embark on my next chapter.
Twenty years ago this month, I packed my bags and moved to New York City to join Viacom and work at the TV Land network. Back then, all the Viacom channels were ramping up their original programming, and since TV Land was home to some of the most celebrated comedies of all time, the company decided to try its hand at original comedies of its own.
We broke out of the gate with the incredibly successful HOT IN CLEVELAND. The night we shot the pilot, when Betty White walked onto the stage, the audience gave her a standing ovation that seemed to last 10 minutes. We knew that night we had something special. HOT IN CLEVELAND went on for six seasons, won multiple awards, and helped establish TV Land as a legitimate original programming destination, paving the way for our first single-camera comedy, YOUNGER.
YOUNGER, created by the iconic Darren Star, ran for seven seasons and became one of the defining shows of the studio. Darren had already created multiple global television hits, and it was incredibly rewarding to partner with him in building another. That creative relationship eventually led us to EMILY IN PARIS, which we sold to Netflix, where it became one of their most successful comedy series worldwide. I remain incredibly proud of the teams, both creatively and behind the scenes, who helped make these series so special.
Then came 2018. The company decided to rebrand Spike as Paramount Network, and Bob Bakish asked me to head up development under Kevin Kay. It was quite an honor, but we knew we had to make an impact quickly and build a slate that could redefine the network.
In a breakfast meeting with David Glasser, Kevin and I heard a pitch described as “The Godfather in Montana.” We immediately saw the potential. A month later, we met with Taylor Sheridan and bought YELLOWSTONE in the room.
What followed exceeded anything we could have imagined. YELLOWSTONE became the #1 scripted show on television and launched what Chris McCarthy would later call the Taylorverse. With Taylor at the center of it all, we built one of the most compelling lineups in television: MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN, LIONESS, TULSA KING, LANDMAN, THE MADISON, 1883, 1923, CBS’s mega hit MARSHALS, and the upcoming DUTTON RANCH.
One of the things I’m proudest of is how aggressively and passionately this company supported these shows from the very beginning. With talented teams across every department rowing in the same direction, we were able to launch an unprecedented number of successful series in a remarkably short amount of time.
Most recently, our expansion into London led us to another exceptional creator, Jez Butterworth. Through my partnership with David Glasser, we brought Jez into the fold with an overall deal that led to the critically acclaimed THE AGENCY and MOBLAND.
Getting the opportunity to identify, develop, and produce these shows with creators like Darren, Taylor, and Jez is what has made this chapter of my career so fulfilling. But equally fulfilling has been working closely with my creative partners Antonia Covault and Todd Baynes, who have been on this journey with me since the beginning, and who I know will continue to shepherd these shows moving forward.
I’m incredibly confident that with Dana and Matt at the studio and Cindy, Jane, and Chris at Paramount+, these shows and franchises will continue to thrive. They care deeply about the work, the creators, and the audiences.
I apologize if this farewell reads a little like an IMDb page, but these shows were never just titles on a slate. They were years of collaboration, creative risk-taking, belief, hard work, and friendship. Our shows define our company, and our company is defined by its people.
What I will miss most are the people who made these 20 years so memorable.
And with that, I say thank you for 20 amazing years.
Keith