Disney TV Studios Sets Creative Acquisitions Unit With Elizabeth Newman

Disney Television Studios is looking to ramp up its search for book and podcast IP that it can develop for the small-screen with a new division led by Elizabeth Newman and Jordan Moblo.

The studio has set up a Creative Acquisitions Department to identify and secure the rights to upcoming and bestselling books, podcasts, news stories and other IP that can be developed by ABC Signature and 20th Television’s roster of showrunners, writers, directors and talent for ABC, Hulu, Freeform, FX, Disney+, NatGeo and other platforms.

Newman will serve as Vice President, Creative Acquisitions, while Moblo will serve as Director of Creative Acquisitions.

Former CAA TV lit agent Newman joined Fox 21 Television Studios at the end of 2019 and was most recently Vice President, Development at Touchstone Television, where she worked with the likes of Gina Prince-Bythewood & Reggie Bythewood, Danny Strong, Tom McCarthy, Marta Kauffman, Sarah Treem and Jenni Konner on projects including Hulu’s Dopesick and was responsible for acquiring the rights to Curtis Sittenfeld’s book Rodham, which is in development at the streamer.

Moblo was previously at 20th Television where he secured rights to and helped develop fiction, non-fiction, podcasts, theatre, journalism, foreign formats, and life rights for series adaptation. He worked with creators including Issac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger, Dan Fogelman, Liz Meriwether and Anthony Hemingway and set up projects including Action Park and Out There at Hulu and Growing Season at ABC. He started his career at CAA and also runs an influential book Instragram account.

“Now more than ever, securing compelling I.P. which captures the imagination of showrunners and consumers alike can be the start of a hit television series,” said Walt Disney Television President of Entertainment Craig Hunegs. “Elizabeth and Jordan are talented executives with impeccable creative taste and deep relationships with agents, publishers, authors and producers. Together, they will strategically serve up source material to our studios and platforms which will redound to the benefit of all of Walt Disney Television.”