An era is ending at Lionsgate Television.
Sandra Stern, vice chairman of the Lionsgate TV Group and a 23-year veteran of the studio, will leave her position at the end of March. She’ll exit as the highest ranking woman executive at Lionsgate.
Stern will also continue her relationship with the studio as a long-term consultant to the Lionsgate TV Group.
“Sandra has been my friend, partner and protégé for the past 40 years,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. “She is an amazing strategist with unparalleled relationships with our partners, and few people understand our business as well as she does. Sandra has been a pillar of our studio’s growth and success for 23 years. Whatever she chooses for the next phase of her career, she will remain a valued and cherished member of our Lionsgate family.”
Stern has had a hand in guiding Lionsgate’s TV output for years, overseeing shows including 2000s-2010s cable stalwarts like Mad Men, Nurse Jackie and Weeds, an early streaming hit in Orange Is the New Black, Starz’s Power franchise and recent breakouts The Hunting Wives and The Studio. Lionsgate TV currently has 13 scripted series, including broadcast staples Ghosts (CBS) and The Rookie (ABC).
“I am so grateful to Jon for the empowerment, inspiration and support he has given me throughout my career as my boss, mentor and friend,” said Stern. “The 23 years I have spent with Jon, Kevin [Beggs] and the rest of the Lionsgate team have been the most personally and professionally rewarding for me, and the relationships I have formed and the friends I have made within my extended television family over my career made my decision to try something new a difficult one. But I know that I am leaving our Television Group in an incredibly strong position, with a great slate of series, a robust creative pipeline and an exceptional team of executives to move them forward, and I am excited to explore other passions and embark on new adventures beyond the world of television.”
Stern (a perennial on THR’s Women in Entertainment power list) is also renowned as a dealmaker. She played important roles in Lionsgate’s acquisition of eOne, the studio’s collaboration with 3 Arts Entertainment (which includes The Hunting Wives) and investment in the U.K. talent management company 42. Stern sits on the latter’s board of directors.
Stern joined Lionsgate in 2003 and became president of the TV group in 2015. She was promoted to vice chairman in December 2022. A UCLA Law School graduate, Stern is a founding member of the school’s LEAD program and serves on the board of the school’s Ziffren Institute for Media, Entertainment, Technology & Sports Law; she also teaches courses there. Her philanthropic work includes board memberships at the Saban Community Clinic, the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center and Center Theatre Group. She’s also a member of the Rape Treatment Center and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles.
