Melinda Weirne, head of writing at Beyond Entertainment, will join the ABC as head of children and families, taking over the role vacated last year by Libby Doherty.
Mr. Weirne joined Beyond in 2016 and served as Kids and Family Producer for two years before becoming Development and Production Executive, a position he held for nearly seven years. In September, she was promoted to head of scriptwriting, replacing David Ogilvy.
Her credits include developing, producing and executive producing the hit drama series “The Family Next Door,” head of development on Troppo (ABC), producer on Motown Magic (Netflix) and Monster Beach (Cartoon Network), and associate producer on the Emmy Award-winning animated series “Beat Bugs” (Netflix). She was also the creator and producer of Hoopla Doopla, a groundbreaking co-production between ABC and China CCTV.
Ms Weirne, who will join the ABC early next year, said: “I am honored to work alongside Australian creators and the talented ABC team to continue building trust and create the next generation of stories for Australian families.”
“The ABC has always been the go-to program for Australian children and their parents, championing ambitious and original storytelling that connects with young audiences at home and abroad,” she said.
Mr. Weirne’s appointment completes ABC Screen’s leadership team, led by filmmaker Jennifer Collins. Other recent appointments include senior executive Alex Baldwin as head of development and commissioning, a role that will oversee all genres and report directly to Jennifer Collins.
Mr Collins described Mr Weirne as “an exceptional creative leader with a track record of delivering great content to Australian and international audiences”.
“We are thrilled to welcome Melinda to the film team as she takes on the responsibility of children and families,” she said.
“I would also like to thank Mary-Ellen Mullane for taking on this role and guiding our team through a time of change while continuing to deliver high-quality programming.”
