Keith Cox Leaving Paramount TV Studios

Long-time Paramount TV Studios executive Keith Cox is departing the company after 20 years.

Cox, an early advocate for Taylor Sheridan and what would become the sprawling Yellowstone universe and former head of development and production at Paramount Network and TV Land, is currently president of MTV Entertainment. He and Paramount TV Studios president Matt Thunell announced Cox’s departure in notes sent to staff on Thursday (read them in full, below).

“Keith is a respected leader and has been an incredible partner to both Dana [Goldberg, co-chair of Paramount Pictures and chair of PTVS] and me from our first days at Paramount,” Thunell wrote. “We are grateful for his leadership, collaboration, and the impact he has had on our teams, creative partners, and franchises.”

Cox’s key lieutenants, Paramount TV Studios vps Todd Baynes and Antonia Covault, will move to the current series team at the studio, headed by executive vp Carolyn Harris. Baynes and Covault work closely with 101 Studios, which co-produces the Yellowstone-verse and Sheridan’s other shows, including Landman, Tulsa King and Lioness, as well as MobLand and The Agency.

Sheridan is also leaving Paramount, albeit gradually. The prolific showrunner signed a megadeal with NBCUniversal last year that covers both film and TV projects; the film portion of the agreement kicks in this year, while Sheridan’s TV output will remain with Paramount through 2028.

“I’m incredibly confident that with Dana and Matt at the studio and Cindy [Holland], Jane [Wiseman], and Chris [Parnell] at Paramount+, these shows and franchises will continue to thrive,” Cox wrote. “They care deeply about the work, the creators, and the audiences.”

Prior to joining what was then Viacom in 2006, Cox was vp comedy at Warner Bros. TV. At TV Land, he led the development of the cable channel’s first original scripted show, Hot in Cleveland, and Younger with Darren Star; the latter relationship helped lead to Paramount TV Studios selling Emily in Paris to Netflix.

Cox added Paramount Network development to his portfolio in 2017, where he championed Yellowstone. He and Nina L. Diaz led MTV Entertainment Studios under Chris McCarthy, eventually adding Showtime to their purview as the premium outlet was folded into Paramount+. Cox stayed on after then co-CEO McCarthy departed in the wake of Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount. Cox is leaving a few months ahead of the expected close of yet another merger, Paramount’s $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Thunell’s memo is below, followed by Cox’s.

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

*****

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