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Cindy Holland is stepping down as Global CEO of Elisabeth Murdoch and Jane Featherstone‘s Sister after 15 months. She is moving to a new role as a senior advisor to Skydance and its CEO David Ellison as he is plotting the future of Paramount upon completion of the pending $8B merger. Former Netflix TV chief Holland is expected to provide streaming expertise and insights to Ellison who has underscored his commitment to that part of Paramount’s business.
Holland’s departure comes as Sister’s board has decided to close the independent entertainment group’s Los Angeles film and television office at the end of 2024. The staff of under 20 across film and TV has just been notified of the decision. Sister CFO Chris Fry will serve as interim CEO while a search takes place for Holland’s replacement.
As one of the first executives at Netflix, Holland had a front-row seat to the company’s transformation from a DVD-by-mail supplier to a global streaming powerhouse, know-how that would benefit Ellison and Skydance as they create their strategy for Paramount+ and the rest of the company. Ellison has spoken publicly about his focus on using technology to grow and scale up Paramount’s business and implementing a tach company mindset to a traditional content company. Due to regulatory restrictions, Ellison has not revealed the top executive team for post-merger Paramount yet besides announcing ex-NBCUniversal topper Jeff Shell as President-to-be.
“Sister has always been synonymous with quality storytelling, creative integrity and an extraordinary team and I am very proud to have been a part of it,” Holland said. “I’m grateful to Liz, Jane and the whole team for their partnership, and I look forward to collaborating with them on projects in the future. I’ve had a longstanding relationship with David and the senior team at Skydance and I’m energized by the opportunity to work closely with them.”
In her first executive job since exiting as Netflix’s head of English-language originals in fall 2020, Holland joined Sister in July 2023. She set out to build out a full-fledged U.S. studio operation of the UK-headquartered company, which had planted a flag in the U.S. in 2019, investing in several smaller outfits.
Over the past year, Holland brought in former Netflix executives Jane Wiseman as Head of U.S. Television and Efrain Miron as President Of Strategy & BA, and signed talent deals with Natasha Lyonne’s Animal Pictures and Brit Marling & Zal Batmanglij. The team has put TV projects in the pipeline that are awaiting greenlight, a process that has become slower and more arduous post-Peak TV. (During Holland’s tenure, Sister U.S. received a film greenlight from Netflix for The Woman in Cabin 10.)
The decision to close the Los Angeles office followed a review of the Sister board which examined the tough market conditions that have been exacerbated by the pandemic, double Hollywood strikes and the ongoing industry contraction. They opted not to replace Holland’s role in the U.S. and, as Sister continues its pursuit of profitability, to focus the company’s efforts and resources on the UK market where it has been successful with a slew of TV series commissions.
While Sister will no longer have U.S. offices, the group will continue to sell and produce shows for the U.S.; its remaining U.S. investments include Zando and Campside Media (a majority stake), with the company also continuing to support U.S.-based employees for Dorothy St. Pictures and Locksmith Animation.
“Cindy is a brilliant, talented executive and anyone would be fortunate to work with her. I’m truly grateful for her stewardship and her leadership, and hope we’ll collaborate together in a new capacity for many years,” Murdoch said. “These are challenging times for production companies, requiring difficult decisions. The Board believes, as I do, that we can significantly boost sustainable growth and strengthen our Group by doubling down on our proven track record of successfully producing from the UK for a worldwide audience. Our exceptional UK base for Sister film and television operations that sells and produces for the U.S. and the world will be our model moving forward. I’m thankful for the work of the Sister U.S. film and television team, and we will take care of them.”
During her Netflix tenure of nearly two decades, including nine years as VP Original Content, Holland established the streamer’s original programing strategy and spearheaded the crop of scripted series that put the streamer on the map, including House of Cards, Orange Is The New Black, BoJack Horseman and The Crown, and also championed more recent hits such as The Queen’s Gambit.
Since her departure in September 2020, Holland had taken on board and advisory roles before returning to the executive ranks with the Sister CEO position.
Sister’s 2024 slate includes Good Grief (Netflix), Passenger (ITV/BritBox), Eric (Netflix), Kaos (Netflix), which is not going to a second season, The Split: Barcelona (BBC), and the upcoming Black Doves (Netflix), which was recently renewed for a second season ahead of its premiere. Additionally, Dorothy St. Pictures has the Emmy-winning Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix) and Anatomy of Lies (Peacock); South of the River Pictures has Wicked Little Letters; Locksmith Animation is behind Last Christmas (Netflix); and Campside Media has podcasts Noble, Night Shift and White Devil. Additional upcoming projects include Yes Yes Media’s Silence is Golden (U&Dave) and Locksmith Animation’s That Christmas for Netflix and Bad Fairies for Warner Bros.
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