Disney Veteran Nancy Kanter To Create Kids’ & Family Content At Netflix
Nancy Kanter, a 20-year veteran of The Walt Disney Company, has moved to Netflix. Through her overall deal, she will develop and produce kids’ and family content for the streamer.
Here are the details:
- Through her banner Available Light Productions, Kanter will develop and produce films and series for Netflix, working across animation and live action.
- Kanter was most recently vp of content and creative strategy at Disney Channels Worldwide, a role she’d held since 2017. She was overseeing the channels’ content strategy for children aged 2–14.
- Joining Disney in 2001, Kanter started out as vp of original programming for what was then Playhouse Disney, a programming block for preschoolers. She oversaw its rebranding as Disney Junior, which launched in 2011, with an accompanying channel following the next year.
- The many shows Kanter launched at Disney include Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sofia the First, Elena of Avalor, Doc McStuffins (for which Kanter had the idea of making the lead character black — an unusual move a decade ago), Mira, Royal Detective, and Disney+’s upcoming The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.
- We knew Kanter was pursuing new opportunities: it was announced last spring that she would leave Disney this January. She joins many high-profile executives who have defected from the House of Mouse to Netflix in recent years, among them Jermaine Turner and Darla Anderson.
- In a statement, Kanter said:
Throughout my career I’ve challenged myself to think differently, imagine bigger, and aim higher. I am delighted at this opportunity to partner with the innovative creators and executive team at Netflix who value those same aspirations, and I look forward to working with them to create new stories that will inspire the minds and touch the hearts of kids and families everywhere.
- Kanter’s former Disney colleague Chris Nee, who created Doc McStuffins, celebrated her move to Netflix on Twitter:
I am so excited to have my friend and mentor 'down the hall'. And YES I CAN KEEP A SECRET! Congrats Nancy and Netflix. https://t.co/wPfwAYCYx9
— Chris Nee 🏳️🌈 (@chrisdocnee) February 1, 2021
