HBO's former head of programming, Michael Lombardo has joined Entertainment One as the Head of Global TV where he will be overseeing programming for a multitude of Hasbro owned properties including Power Rangers, Transformers, and Dungeons & Dragons. Lombardo previously spent 33 at HBO, serving as the president of programming the past nine years where he greenlit a number of high-profile series including Game of Thrones, True Detective, and Silicon Valley.
"We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Michael to the eOne team. His incredibly impressive history of success during his long tenure at HBO resulted in some of the most ground-breaking, iconic television series over the past two decades," said Steve Bertram, president film & television at Entertainment One in a press release last week. "A true champion of creative excellence, Michael is the ideal leader to guide our television strategy at a time where audiences are demanding content of the highest quality."
Hasbro acquired Entertainment One in December 2019 for $3.8 billion, in an all-cash deal to secure hit children's series from the indie studio including Peppa Pig, Ricky Zoom, and PJ Masks. Hasbro will be able to bring merchandising in house for Peppa Pig and PJ Masks once existing licensing deals end in 2021. "The acquisition of eOne adds beloved story-led global family brands that deliver strong operating returns to Hasbro’s portfolio and provides a pipeline of new brand creation driven by family-oriented storytelling, which will now include Hasbro’s IP,” said Brian Goldner, Hasbro chairman and CEO in a statement.
While Entertainment One will handle the television side for Hasbro owned properties, Paramount Pictures currently has the film rights for Power Rangers, Transformers, and Dungeons and Dragons. Paramount is currently in early production stages for new entries in all-three franchises, including a second Power Rangers reboot set in the 90s. The film is being helmed by The End of the F***ing World director Jonathan Entwistle and will ignore the events of the 2017 film of the same name.
Source: THR