After a decade as president of Keshet Studios, Peter Traugott will depart for Fifth Season taking the reins as president of television for the indie studio.
Traugott fills the TV executive position that has been vacant since the exit of then-TV President Joe Hipps in 2024. Though Traugott will be replaced at Keshet, he is expected to continue his relationship with the Israeli film production company.
Additionally, Fifth Season veterans Noah Greenshner and Maggie Burkhead will expand their roles in the television division. Greenshner was promoted to executive vice president and head of TV creative, where she will oversee all creative aspects of the division and report to Traugott. Burkhead was named senior vice president of TV development & production.
“This is a huge opportunity for us to add even more momentum to a television department that has been stacking hits,” CEO Graham Taylor said. “Peter has been a force in the business for years. He’s got a rare combination of creative taste and business sense, which can be a gamechanger in a studio’s growth, and the body of work to prove it.”
“As for Noah and Maggie, we’re of course deeply acquainted with their quality,” he added. “They’ve been key figures in making Fifth Season what it is today, and their new roles will empower them to do even more great work. It’s a big moment for us, and we can’t wait to build the next wave of globally successful series.”
Fifth Season Lays Off About 10% of Staff
Fifth Season’s current slate includes “Nine Perfect Strangers,” “Chief of War” and “His & Hers.” The studio has recruited higher ups for its executive slate since the co-CEO Chris Rice announced his exit for the end of 2025.
The company produced the first two seasons of “Severance,” but Apple acquired the sci-fi drama from the studio last week. Fifth Season will stay on as an executive producer.
“Fifth Season has built a reputation for creative ambition, backing bold and distinctive series that resonate around the world,” Traugott said. “With the company’s global production infrastructure, the top-tier creator relationships they’ve cultivated, and a development slate that’s stacked with premium IP, we’re in a great spot to continue to build on the group’s success and bring to life stories that are both culturally and commercially impactful.”
Keshet International, the global distribution and production arm of Israel’s Keshet Media Group, formed the U.S. production arm of the studio, tapping Traugott to lead in 2015. During his tenure, the studio produced a number of titles for Universal Television with series like “La Brea” for NBC, “The Baker and The Beauty” for ABC, “The Brave” for NBC and “A Body That Works.” Outside of the Universal partnership, Keshet Studios under Traugott’s leadership produced “Our Boys” for HBO, “Echo 3” on Apple TV and “A Small Light” for Nat Geo.
Prior to Keshet, Traugott founded TBD Entertainment, which operated under Universal TV’s banner. He was the president of that production company for 4 years. Ahead of that, he spent 15 years at Brillstein Grey Entertainment serving as President of Television managing series such as “The Sopranos,” “NewsRadio” and “According to Jim.”
Fifth Season’s upcoming titles include “East of Eden,” starring Florence Pugh for Netflix; “The Good Daughter,” starring Meghann Fahy and Rose Byrne for Peacock; and the yet-to-be-released Apple TV series “The Savant” starring Jessica Chastain. The TV department has overall deals with Jessica Chastain’s Freckle Films, Beau Willimon’s Westward Production, Amy Adams’ Bond Group and “Ozark” creator Bill Dubuque.
