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In a broad cost-cutting move, Meta is shutting down the Facebook Watch originals team, whose small slate of programming includes the hit show “Red Table Talk,” hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith, type confirmed.
A representative for Meta confirmed that the company is shutting down its original team, but declined to provide further comment.The news is the first time Report before the deadline.
Mina Lefevre, the group’s head of development and programming, is leaving the company as Facebook Watch Originals closes. Lefevre joined Meta (then called Facebook) in 2017, after serving as head of script development for MTV. At Meta, Lefevre reports to Ricky Van Veen, vice president of creative strategy.
Lefevre’s exit comes amid layoffs at Meta 10,000 jobs across the company, After being laid off 11,000 employees At the end of 2022. Wednesday, Meta reports Q1 2023 earnings, beats Wall Street expectationsas its revenue rose 3% during the period.
Facebook Watch’s original beginnings began with A mix of scripted and unscripted shows, but the company has pivoted entirely to ad-hoc fares in recent years. Its current programming includes “Red Table Talk” and “Steve on Watch” with Steve Harvey.
The Red Table Talk series is produced by Westbrook Studios, co-founded by Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith; the company is said to be looking for new distributors after the Facebook Watch deal closes. Daytime Emmy-winning talk show hosted by Pinkett Smith, daughter Willow Smith and mother Adrienne “Gammy” Banfield-Norris (above picture). “Red Table Talk” has 11 million fans on Facebook. Westbook also produced the spin-off “Red Table Talk: The Estefans,” which features Gloria Estefan, her daughter Emily and her niece Lili.
Some of the social platform’s original programming has embraced the zeitgeist, such as Jada Pinkett Smith’s talk show “Red Table Talk” and Elizabeth Olsen’s series “Sorry for Your Loss,” which tells the story of The story of a woman mourning the death of her husband. Facebook is diving further into the talk format, relaunching Steve Harvey’s daytime show after NBC canceled it: “Steve on Watch” premieres Jan. 6 on Facebook and will run for 10 weeks.
Prior to Facebook, Lefevre oversaw script development and programming for all of MTV, as well as movies. She joined MTV in 2013 as Senior Vice President of Scripted Programming, where she worked on shows including “Teen Wolf,” “Scream,” “Finding Carter,” “The Shannara Chronicles,” and “The Pretend.” Before joining MTV, she spent 12 years at ABC Family (now known as Freeform), where, as vice president of development and programming, she oversaw the release of its breakthrough hit “Pretty Little Liars.”
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