Disney+ Hires New Italian VP Of Original Production

Disney is continuing to build its international slate of originals by appointing Sonia Rovai as the new VP of original production in Italy, who will lead the Disney+ team in the region.

In her role, she will lead Disney+’s Italian team and oversee scripted and unscripted local original productions, including production management and business affairs.  

Sonia Rovai previously served as CEO of Wildside and worked on “My Brilliant Friend” and “The Monster of Florence”.  She also worked at Comcast’s Sky Italia on over 80 Sky Originals, including “Gomorrah,” “The Young Pope,” and “ZeroZeroZero.”

Angela Jain, the head of content at Disney+ EMEA, said in a statement regarding the hire to Variety:

“Sonia joins us at a pivotal moment of growth as we scale our originals across the world.  Italy is a key market for us, and following the greenlight of ‘Murder on Lake Garda’, our goal is to champion local content that enriches and complements our global line-up with true cultural authenticity and local specificity. Sonia brings an incredible wealth of experience to the team and can’t wait to work with the very best of the Italian creative industry.”

This is the latest move by Disney to drastically increase its international originals, with plans to triple the number of local original series on Disney+ in the next three years. 

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