Top Fox TV Executive Exiting, and May Join AMC
Before moving to the Fox broadcast network, Mr. Madden worked at the company’s TV studio where he helped shepherd several prestigious cable shows, including “The Americans,” “The Killing”
and “The Shield.” In entertainment circles, Mr. Madden is known for having a taste for grittier, cable-friendly fare, so his position at the Fox broadcast network for the last three years struck some as an odd fit.
Earlier this year, Lachlan Murdoch, the executive chairman of 21st Century Fox, told investors
that the network’s performance had been “frustrating for us all.”
Other than “Empire,” the network has no big hits, and there is heavy skepticism that its slate of new shows in the fall will produce one.
Mr. Thorn helped oversee the development of both “Empire” and “This is Us,” and other shows like ABC’s “Speechless” and “Fresh Off the Boat.”
Mr. Madden, meanwhile, may not be out of work for long.
The job Mr. Madden was seeking would also include overseeing programming at Sundance TV
and occupying a senior role at AMC’s in-house studio, said the person, who spoke anonymously to discuss private negotiations.
One of Fox’s issues is that its TV studio has produced a number of hits for other networks — including FX’s “American Crime Story” (a corporate cousin) and NBC’s “This is Us” —
but none for Fox since “Empire” debuted two and a half years ago.
David Madden, the outgoing president, will be replaced by Michael Thorn, a development executive at Fox’s in-house TV studio, the network said.
