In a shakeup for Netflix’s unscripted sector, Jeff Gaspin, who serves as VP of unscripted programming at the streamer, has set his exit from the role.
The decision came from both Gaspin and nonfiction series VP Brandon Riegg, who jointly agreed it was the right time for Gaspin to transition into working with the team in a producer capacity, per an individual with knowledge of the move.
Moving forward, Gaspin will be hands-on with the development and production of Netflix’s next wave of programming. The role might not be filled once Gaspin officially exits his executive role on July 1.
Gaspin, however, will continue to be involved in major unscripted projects for the streamer, including “Monopoly” and “Physical 100: USA,” as well as live events like the Actor Awards. He’ll also continuing shepherding Netflix’s newest dating franchise, “Age of Attraction,” which he developed.
Gaspin’s departure comes over two years after he left NBCUniversal to become vice president of unscripted series at Netflix. Gaspin took over for Jenn Levy, the former VP of nonfiction, who now heads up unscripted and documentary TV at Amazon MGM Studios.
During Gaspin’s tenure, he expanded Netflix’s live event portfolio with events like “Skyscraper: Live” and the BTS concert, both of which scored impressive viewership.
“Skyscraper Live” scored 6.2 million views across its first two days, marking Netflix’s third most-watched TV program during the week of Jan. 19. And the live BTS concert scored 18.4 million global viewers, per live-plus-one-day figures.
Gaspin also helped oversee Netflix’s growing reality universe, which sees stars from its biggest shows mix and mingle on other Netflix reality series.
“The fandoms that get created from these reality stars are pretty astronomical — it’s pretty explosive,” Gaspin told TheWrap. “We do so many reality shows and it’s oftentimes valuable to bring along those cast members that have fan bases already. It just creates a different dynamic in a show that fans really love … It makes perfect sense to explore using those fandoms in other ways.”
