Endeavor Content is no more.
The independent studio has been rebranded as Fifth Season, effective Sept. 7, with the company’s new name following its previous agreement with the WGA to divest a majority stake of the affiliated studio. Fifth Season, as it is now known, is now 80 percent controlled by South Korea’s CJ ENM. Endeavor retains a 20 percent interest in the studio behind shows including Apple’s Emmy-nominated Severance, AMC’s Killing Eve and feature The Lost Daughter, among others.
The name Fifth Season stems from Eastern medicine, which recognizes the so-called “fifth season” as a celebratory time of harvest in late summer.
“We love this idea of East meets West,” co-CEO Chris Rice told The Hollywood Reporter. “Our business has been globally focused from the early days. The philosophy of what we wanted to do and where we saw the market going before we launched Endeavor Content was a fusion of film, TV and the idea that American audiences can only deal with American settings and characters is one we rejected early on. In our early days, The Night Manager, Killing Eve, Top of the Lake, those shows speak to all of those trends and beliefs. We liked the idea that the brand reflected a global idea.”
Rice and Graham Tayor continue to serve as co-CEOs, with Tim Robinson as COO, Kasee Calabrese as CFO, Joe Hipps leading the TV studio and Alexis Garcia overseeing the feature film group. The company currently employs 220 staffers. CJ ENM, the company behind films including Parasite and Snowpiercer, secured an 80 percent investment in Endeavor Content in November. Endeavor Content was valued at $850 million at the time. Fifth Season was spun off earlier this year in a deal that valued it at $1 billion. Upcoming titles include the final season of Apple’s See, 80 for Brady, Book Club 2 and Lady in the Lake, among others.
Endeavor agreed to divest its affiliated studio following prolonged negotiations with the WGA in the battle over packaging rights. In exchange for representing writers again, Endeavor agreed to divest Endeavor Content and phase out packaging.
