Melissa Cobb to lead Netflix kids and family content team
David Farnor | On 16, Sep 2017
Melissa Cobb has been hired to lead Netflix’s kids team, as the streaming giant ramps up its family original content.
As Vice President, Kids and Family, Cobb will oversee the creation and acquisition of series and films for children and families. She will drive Netflix’s expanded focus on high quality series and event programming, including both animation and live action.
Cobb joins Netflix from DreamWorks, where most recently she was Chief Creative Officer and Head of Studio for Oriental DreamWorks. Based in Shanghai, China, she oversaw all aspects of running the studio and US/China collaboration including creative oversight of all projects in development and production, business strategy, production strategy and more for a slate of animated features targeted at a global audience. Prior to that, she served as a Producer at DreamWorks Animation, responsible for all aspects of producing animated feature films, including the Kung Fu Panda trilogy. She also worked at 20th Century Fox Feature Animation, where she worked to put into production the animated Titan A.E. and the live-action Drew Barrymore hit feature, Ever After, as well as Walt Disney Pictures, where she was responsible for discovering and developing live-action titles for the company, including Steven Sommers’ The Jungle Book, and Man of the House, starring Chevy Chase.
It’s the DreamWorks connection, though, that makes Netflix a natural step for Cobb: a long-standing partnership with DreamWorks has been the backbone of the streaming giant’s original kids output, with spin-offs from How to Train Your Dragon and others leading the site’s offerings.
“I’m so excited to begin this next chapter with Netflix,” says Cobb. “Given the creative freedom offered here and the global audience, there’s a huge opportunity for talented creatives across the industry to create the world’s best kids and family series and features for Netflix. My goal for this team is to offer a diverse slate of great, powerful and timeless family entertainment with global appeal, and to be creator and talent friendly, while striving for the highest quality in everything we do.”
“Melissa brings a wealth of experience creating and overseeing series and feature films that resonate with kids and families across the globe. No matter where they live, our members find tremendous enjoyment in our kids and family content, and I couldn’t be happier to have Melissa on board to continue expanding into new and exciting areas,” adds Sarandos.