Fox’s Michael Thorn: A Faster Path to Yes — ‘No Layers,’ No Pilots
The network president on his promise to top talent (Denis Leary, Patrick Dempsey), going all in on faith-based series and a platform-agnostic strategy
I laid out 5 burning Qs about Dana Walden’s plans in her new Disney role, spoke to John Wells about The Pitt and the upcoming WGA talks and interviewed Universal book guru Jordan Moblo about the IP wars. I’m lesley.goldberg@theankler.com
“If you’re able to leverage your independence, you can really do great things.”
That’s how Michael Thorn describes Fox’s position in today’s television market. And in the two years since Thorn was promoted to president of Fox Television Network, the broadcast network has quietly reshaped itself into something unusual: a major buyer without a studio overlord, a streamer-first mandate or a traditional pilot season.
Though it’s odd to think of the Fox Network as independent, given its larger News Corp. ownership, in the world of television it is.
Reporting directly to Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade, Thorn, 52, oversees unscripted programming for the first time in his career after he helped develop hits like This Is Us, Empire and Friday Night Lights during his previous tenures at Fox and its former studio counterpart, 20th Television, and NBC.
Things have changed considerably in the near-decade since Thorn moved from Fox’s former studio to the broadcast network. Two years after his arrival, Fox’s primary programming pipeline was gone after Disney acquired 20th Television and all of its IP, leaving the Fox network as an independent operation.
Now, Thorn is reshaping the network into a mix of star-driven scripted swings (Patrick Dempsey in Memory of a Killer) and more cost-effective unscripted entries including The Floor, the Rob Lowe-hosted game show that, as I scooped last week, was renewed for two additional seasons.
The strategy is beginning to show results. During Fox Corp.’s recent earnings call, CEO Lachlan Murdoch revealed that entertainment revenue rose for the first time in four years, citing launches including Good Medicine, Fear Factor and Memory of a Killer, each drawing more than 10 million viewers in their first week across platforms. “The proof is in the pudding,” Murdoch told analysts. “This is the best season launch we’ve had in approximately 13 years.”
As Fox approaches seven years as a standalone company post-Disney, Thorn is leaning into that independence. The company now has internal scripted, unscripted and animation studios; an in-house streaming service, Fox One; and a development model designed to offer what he calls a faster path to “yes” for writers, producers and stars.
“We want to have shared success with our own divisions that we can produce and distribute,” Thorn tells me.
In a market where streamers have slowed orders, pilot season has all but collapsed and development pipelines are tighter than ever, Fox is pitching itself as something different: fewer layers, quicker decisions and a willingness to sell shows beyond its own walls.
With basic cable brands at Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount still in flux — and newer independents like Versant charting their own course — the question is whether Fox’s model becomes a blueprint.
In my exclusive interview with Thorn, he breaks down how that strategy works — and what it means for creators looking for a buyer right now:
Fox’s “platform-agnostic” strategy and what it means for creators
The network’s “unofficial first look” with Fox’s studios and where else it’s buying now
How the network and studios collaborate to “pierce culture” with original programming — and how the company is leaning into more owned shows
Which creators have signed on for Fox’s non-exclusive direct-to-broadcast deals, and the shows working under that model
Fox’s promise to big-name showrunner talent: access to leadership, no mixed messages and “no layers”
How Thorn’s team balances “favorite children” with “cost-effective winners” — and what that means for talent pay
Why Fox is done with pilots
The strategy behind Biblical series The Faithful and why faith-based programming resonates at Fox: “Our audience is America”