Another legacy Paramount TV executive is leaving after the Skydance merger. Company veteran Keith Cox, who served as chief programming officer for numerous brands, including TV Land, Paramount Network and Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, is leaving after two decades. His last day is June 5.
Cox’s future plans have not been revealed but I hear he is in talks to join his former boss, Chris McCarthy, at NBCUniversal when the former Paramount Co-CEO struck a deal. It’s part of McCarthy’s regrouping of a core team, including David Glasser and his 101 Studios, who moved to NBCU earlier this year. MobLand EP Jez Butterworth, who recently signed a five-year deal with Universal Entertainment, and Taylor Sheridan, who is making changes in early 2029.
At Paramount, Cox was recently at the newly relaunched Paramount Television Studios where President Matt Thunell announced his departure in an internal memo. In the company email, which you can read below, and in Cox’s farewell message to employees, the two recounted Cox’s major accomplishments during his 20 years at the helm.
Originally hired in 2006 as EVP development and Original Programming for TV Land, Cox transformed the cable network from a graveyard of old sitcoms into a real-life comedy juggernaut with a hit multi-cam sitcom. It’s hot in Cleveland, which ran for 128 episodes. Then he changed things up, casting Darren Star in TV Land’s first single-camera series, a romcom. little one, which ran for seven seasons, helped revive Star’s career and, years after its demise, found a new audience on Netflix. The duo’s shorthand led to Star making his next series Emily in Paris and Cox at MTV Entertainment Studios, first for the Paramount Network before moving to Netflix where it became one of the broadcaster’s signature comedies.
In his next gig as head of programming for the newly rebranded Paramount Network, Cox shined. Yellowstone from Sheridan and Glasser’s 101 after many other networks had gone neo-Western. That started a relationship that has produced a number of big hits, from Yellowstone and the prequels 1883 again 1923 to Tulsa King, Landman, The Marshals and the future Yellowstone a spinoff Dutton Ranch.
Cox also had a hand in putting Butterworth in the fold, which led to the streak MobLand again The Agency, both have 101 studios.
After Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, where Cox was President, was folded into the new Paramount TV Studios following the Skydance merger of August 2025, he continued and continued to oversee the series under his hand, including Taylor Sheridan’s slide and Emily in Paris.
Following Cox’s departure, his direct reports, VP, Paramount Television Studios, Antonia Covault, and VP, Paramount Television Studios, Todd Baynes, will transition to the studio’s current team, reporting to EVP, Current Head, Carolyn Harris.
Here are the internal memos.
Answer from Matt Thunell:
group,
I’m trying to share some news with you about my wonderful colleague Keith Cox. Keith has made the decision to step down from his studio role after 20 years of valuable contributions.
During his long tenure, Keith helped oversee many successful and culturally influential series across Paramount’s portfolio. He was Taylor Sheridan’s first master and helped bring Yellowstone to the Paramount Network, where it went on to become a top-rated show on cable and launched a franchise. He played a key role in expanding the Taylorverse, including Landman, 1883, 1923, Tulsa King, Mayor of Kingstown, and Lioness, as well as recent hits such as The Madison and the Marshals; and the soon-to-be-released Dutton Ranch. He also helped launch a successful slate of Jez Butterworth series with Paramount+, including MobLand and The Agency. Keith has played a fundamental role in the scripted success of MTV Entertainment Studios.Additionally, Keith has been instrumental in the development and launch of a wide variety of outstanding series across the 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 Netflix’s Emily in Paris, which went on to become a global hit.
Keith has worked closely with some of the industry’s greatest racers, including Darren Star, Terry Winter, and Jez Butterworth, while collaborating with long-time partner David Glasser and 101 Studios.
Most importantly, Keith is a respected leader and has been a wonderful partner to Dana and me since our early days at Paramount. We appreciate his leadership, collaboration, and impact on our teams, strategic partners, and franchisees.
Over the next few weeks, Keith will be working on the transition with his talented creative team, Todd Baynes and Antonia Covault, who are shepherding these achievements along with Keith and his partners at 101 Studios. Both Antonia and Todd will continue to work closely with me, and will now report to Carolyn Harris, the current Head of Series.
Please join me in thanking Keith for his many contributions. We wish you the best and will miss you dearly!
Matt
Answer from Keith Cox:
As I mark my two decades at this wonderful company, I wanted to send a note of thanks as I begin my next chapter.
Twenty years ago this month, I packed my bags and moved to New York City to join Viacom and work on the TV Land network. At the time, all Viacom channels were putting together their own original programming, and since TV Land was home to some of the most acclaimed comedies of all time, the company decided to try its hand at original comedies.
We came out of the gate with HOT IN CLEVELAND which was incredibly successful. The night we shot the pilot, when Betty White came on stage, the audience held her up for what seemed like 10 minutes. We knew that night we had something special. HOT IN CLEVELAND ran for six seasons, won numerous awards, and helped establish TV Land as an official programming destination, paving the way for our first single-camera comedy, YOUNGER.
YOUNG, created by superstar Darren Star, ran for seven seasons and became one of the studio’s standout shows. Darren had already created many hits around the world, and it was incredibly rewarding to work with him on creating another one. That creative partnership eventually led us to EMILY IN PARIS, which we sold to Netflix, where it became their internationally successful comedy series. I am always very proud of the teams, both brilliantly and behind the scenes, who helped make this series so special.
Then 2018 came. The company decided to rebrand Spike as Paramount Network, and Bob Bakish asked me to lead 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 networking.
In a morning meeting with David Glasser, Kevin and I heard a voice described as “The Godfather in Montana.” We immediately saw the potential. A month later, we met Taylor Sheridan and bought YELLOWSTONE in the room.
What followed was beyond 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’ve built the most compelling lineup on 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 am proud of is the way this company has supported these shows from the beginning. With talented teams in all departments rowing in the same direction, we have been able to launch an unprecedented number of successful series in a very short period of time.
Recently, our expansion into London has led us to another special creator, Jez Butterworth. With my collaboration with David Glasser, we brought Jez into the fold in the perfect deal that brought AGENCY and MOBLAND into disrepute.
Having the opportunity to identify, develop, and produce these games with creators like Darren, Taylor, and Jez is what 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 from the beginning, and who I know will continue to shepherd these shows forward.
I am 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 audience.I’m sorry if this goodbye reads a little like an IMDb page, but these shows weren’t just titles on the slate. It was 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 the most are the people who made these 20 years so memorable.
And with that, I say thank you for 20 wonderful years.Keith
