Kristen Zolner Leaves Imagine Entertainment, Steps Down as TV Head

Kristen Zolner, the current Head of Television at Imagine Entertainment, has departed from her role, according to sources speaking to Deadline.

The departure of Zolner is reported to be friendly, and there are no plans to appoint a replacement for her position.

Zolner stepped into the role in 2022, succeeding Samie Kim Falvey who exited Imagine in 2021. During her tenure, Zolner was responsible for several high-profile projects including the Peacock series adaptation of The Burbs featuring Keke Palmer, a reboot of Friday Night Lights, and the forthcoming Netflix series Gringo Hunters.

Before her time at Imagine, Zolner was the Director of Original Series at Netflix. In this role, she managed a variety of successful shows such as Emily in Paris, Dead to Me, Big Mouth, The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, Maniac, Master of None, and The Pentaverate with Mike Myers. She also spearheaded the production of Uncoupled and the still unnamed Mo Amer project. Additionally, she played a pivotal role in securing the rights to Michelle Buteau’s bestselling book Survival of the Thickest, which has been renewed for a second season at Netflix. Over her first two years at the streaming giant, Zolner contributed to the launch of Netflix’s first 25 original standup specials.

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Prior to her Netflix role, Zolner worked at Amazon Studios as a development executive. There, she helped bring to life the Emmy-winning series Transparent and Bosch, which became the studio’s longest-running original series. Before Amazon, she held positions at Scot Armstrong’s production company, American Work, and worked with HBO’s festivals group.

Zolner’s exit was initially reported by Variety.