Dana Walden made her debut at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference this afternoon.
Walden, who is Co-Chairman, Disney Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, didn’t break any news at the event but did talk up the success of FX’s Shōgun, while avoiding the topic of CEO succession.
Many observers opined that her appearance had the hallmark of a senior executive making her case to Wall Street and investors that she should be the one to replace Bob Iger, who she sat next to at the Oscars, when he steps down for a second time.
When asked by Benjamin Swinburne, media and telecom analyst at Morgan Stanley about leadership at Disney going forward, Walden said, “This is such a talented, I would say, gifted, group of leaders. It is a small leadership team who deliver so much value. The culture at Disney is excellent. This company is in incredibly good hands, and we’ve had the amazing opportunity to learn and work with Bob now, who I really could not think more highly of and I know that’s a sentiment that’s shared widely across our industry and across business in general. This company is in excellent hands, and I have amazing colleagues.”
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Swinburne highlighted the difficulties over the last few years including a “volatile” period for the industry with leadership changes, reorgs, the pandemic and the labor strikes in Hollywood. “It has been very rough for everyone in the room,” said Walden.
Walden is widely considered one of the potential successors to Iger along with ESPN’s Jimmy Pitaro, theme parks and experiences chief Josh D’Amaro and her Co-Chairman, Disney Entertainment Alan Bergman as well as a handful of external candidates.
The former Fox executive talked up Disney’s movie and TV slate at the event, highlighting shows such as Paradise, which has its finale today on Hulu, as well as Shōgun. She reminded people that the company won 60 Emmys in September including 18 for the period drama that included the Outstanding Drama Series as well as 11 wins for The Bear.
“That was more than any of our competitors ever. I think it is meaningful to point out that the rest of the industry split the other 69 awards, so [there is] value in the content and how we’re delivering it to our subscribers,” she said.
Shōgun has been renewed for a second season. Co-creator, showrunner, and executive producer Justin Marks told reporters backstage at the Golden Globes in January that the writers were finishing the writers room in February.
Star Hiroyuki Sanada said at last month’s Critics Choice Awards that he is “very excited about the plan” for the ten-episode season. “I think the thing to take away, more than anything, is how, I hope people are going to be surprised with some of the big ideas as soon as the first episode of part two. So, we’ll start there and see where it takes us for future stories,” he added.
Walden said that Disney and FX wouldn’t rush the process. “We like to bake it carefully. We will not release season two until it’s ready,” she added.
The post ‘Shōgun’ & Succession: Dana Walden Says Disney Is Being “Careful” With Season 2 Of FX Drama, Skirts CEO Chat At Investor Conference appeared first on Deadline.
