Former Netflix executive Brian Wright has joined Riot Games Entertainment as the new Chief Content Officer, developing the company’s global film, TV and animation strategies.
The news comes as Riot Games, the developer and publisher known for global hit PC games including “League of Legends” and “VALORANT,” plus the upcoming animated series “Arcane,” continues to build its new entertainment studio. Wright will report directly to Riot Games’ Global President of Entertainment, Shauna Spenley.
“Brian is a dynamic leader with creative instincts that led to many shows that penetrated pop culture and delighted audiences around the world while working with the best showrunners, directors and creators in entertainment,” Spenley said in a statement announcing Wright’s hiring. “He is the perfect visionary to shepherd Riot’s beloved IP, help create original content and build a first-class studio all while keeping true to our ‘player first’ ethos.”
In his new position, Wright will be responsible for developing programming strategies for original film, television and animation for Riot Entertainment. He will also work closely with Spenley and the global leadership team to bridge relationships between the gaming and the entertainment industries and identify talent and creators to expand the brand’s popular IP. The creative, production, and business affairs divisions will all report to Wright.
“I am beyond thrilled to be joining Riot Entertainment,” Wright added. “The ‘League of Legends’ universe is some of the most imaginative and inspired IP known today — the ultimate playground to invite the world’s best storytellers.”
“Working with Shauna and the team to build a cutting-edge studio is nothing short of a dream come true,” he continued. “A proof point of what’s possible can be found in ‘Arcane,’ Riot’s first animated series, which blew me away with its inspired storytelling, visuals and music. I can’t wait to bring more vibrant stories to players and fans around the world.”
Wright first joined Netflix in 2014, and over the last seven years, worked to build the streaming company’s Original Series effort, overseeing top shows including “Stranger Things,” “13 Reasons Why,” “Shadow & Bone,” “Atypical,” “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” “Outer Banks,” “Ginny & Georgia,” “The Umbrella Academy,” “Cobra Kai,” “Fuller House” and “Raising Dion.”
Wright also managed Ryan Murphy’s overall deal at Netflix, before creating a new overall deals team which oversaw all series deals including the Duffer brothers, Shawn Levy, Shonda Rhimes, the Obamas, Mike Flanagan, Mara Brock Akil and Jenji Kohan.
Before Netflix, Wright spent seven years at Viacom, rising to SVP of development across Nickelodeon and Nick @ Nite. He started his executive career at Greg Berlanti’s production company, before spending two years at Lifetime.