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EXCLUSIVE: Amplify Pictures has hired former CAA, Quibi and Picturestart exec Luke Esselen to take on a senior role as the international studio pushes into scripted.
Esselen has been named Senior Scripted Executive, repotting into Amplify’s Amsterdam-based Chief Content Officer, Rachel Eggebeen. He will be based in LA, where Amplify is based, and be responsible for a slate of scripted projects that have an emphasis on ongoing series and franchises.
Amplify is looking to recreate the indie financing model it uses for its unscripted shows, which include HBO’s doc series 100 Foot Wave and the Smriti Mundhra-directed docs-series Bollywood Dance U, for scripted programming and Deadline understands several unannounced projects with talent attached are on the slate.
Esselen has held senior positions at Erik Feig’s Picturestart and short-lived short-form streamer Quibi. He previously worked as a talent agent at CAA. Before joining Amplify, he was VP of Television at Picturestart, where he oversaw a slate of development projects for studios and streamers. As one of the first hires at Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Quibi, he was Senior Content Lead and launched series such as Most Dangerous Game, Dummy, Reno911!, The Fugitive and Die Hart. He began his career at CAA and Mosaic and returned to CAA as agent before departing to join comedy site Funny to Die to begin his career in development.
His “knowledge and background working across various facets of the industry makes him uniquely qualified to lead Amplify Pictures’ push into scripted indie TV and to work with top tier talent,” according to Amplify’s bosses.
“Amplify Pictures is about originating new financing models for television, being nimble, and creating a fun home for the top talent in the world,” said Eggebeen. “Having Luke join us at this key moment in our growth is immensely exciting as Luke is the full package — an entrepreneurial mindset, great taste in talent and material, and a leader. He will be an essential element in Amplify’s next phase of growth as we build on our success in indie TV.”
Amplify has taken a proactive stance in advocating for new financial models in television. Last month at the MIA Market in Rome, CEO and founder Joe Lewis predicted “truly independently financing TV is the actual solution to the problem that studios, producers, creators and even distributors have.” This would send the TV biz more in the direction of indie filmmaking, where multiple partners invest in project in exchange for equity shares, and production can begin without a distributor onboard.
“I’m thrilled to join the incredible team at Amplify Pictures and to be a part of their bold movement to redefine television,” said Esselen. “In this ever-changing landscape, their commitment to investing in innovative storytelling and empowering creators is exactly where I believe this industry should be headed. I look forward to collaborating with the exceptional team that’s already in place.”
Amplify’s second season of surf doc 100 Foot Wave received six Emmy nominations, while the first won for Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program. Season three is set to launch on HBO in coming months and was trailed in the network’s recent teaser for 2025.
The company recently expanded its theater production division and was the co-producer of the Tony-nominated Gutenberg! The Musical!, starring Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells. It also launched its first podcast, Pretty Sure I Can Fly, hosted by Johnny Knoxville and Elna Baker and produced alongside SmartLess Media and Campside Media.
