Netflix independent films executive Sheroum Kim exits in layoffs

Sheroum Kim is leaving Netflix after more than seven years overseeing independent films for the streamer.

Deadline reported on 14 October that Kim, who joined as Director of Independent Films in January 2019, was impacted by ongoing layoffs at the company Deadline. She is not the only exit. Vice-president of film Doug Belgrad is also departing as part of the cuts.

The title refers to an executive post, not the job of directing on set. Kim worked with producers and film-makers to find scripts, attach talent and guide lower- and mid-budget features through to release. Her recent work for Netflix includes My Oxford Year, Roommates and Don't Say Good Luck.

Belgrad held a more senior management rank. In most studio hierarchies, a vice-president sits above a director and supervises a wider slate of projects and staff.

The departures follow reports of wider reductions. Puck reported on 9 October that Netflix was preparing layoffs while under pressure from weakened engagement and a depressed stock price Puck. The Los Angeles Times reported the same day, citing sources, that the company planned a substantial round of job cuts Los Angeles Times.

Before Netflix, Kim spent several years at STX, first as vice-president of development and later as senior vice-president of production. Development is the early, organised stage of film-making, when stories are found and scripts are shaped before cameras roll. At STX she worked on The Edge of Seventeen, starring Hailee Steinfeld and Woody Harrelson, and I Feel Pretty, starring Amy Schumer.

Earlier in that STX run, she was assigned to oversee an untitled romantic comedy to be produced by and starring Anne Hathaway, Variety reported in 2017 Variety, and a spy thriller project developed with former CIA officer Henry Crumpton, Variety reported in 2016 Variety.

Prior to STX, Kim was head of development at 22 & Indiana Pictures. There she developed and executive produced American Sniper, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper. She started her career at Warner Bros and the talent agency WME.

For viewers, the change will be invisible at first. These jobs rarely carry prominent on-screen credit, but they shape which scripts are bought, which film-makers are hired and which finished films reach the release calendar. What makes this stand out is tenure. More than seven years covers several full production cycles in streaming, where executives often move between studios and services.