Sam Esmail Brings In Former Peacock Exec Eli Kirschner As Head Of Television Of Esmail Corp

Sam Esmail Brings In Former Peacock Exec Eli Kirschner As Head Of Television Of Esmail Corp

EXCLUSIVE: Eli Kirschner, who was most recently SVP, Scripted Development at Peacock, has joined Sam Esmail’s Esmail Corp as Head of Television.


Kirschner, who has been at NBCUniversal for a decade in a variety of roles, will work to grow the Homecoming and Mr. Robot producer’s slate of streaming and cable series.


He will report to Esmail and his production partner Chad Hamilton and will oversee a team that includes Sarah Matte, Vice President of Development, and coordinator, Dexter Eichhorst.


Kirschner previously oversaw production of the NBCU streamer’s initial slate including Brave New World. Before that he oversaw cable series from USA Network and Syfy such as The Expanse, The Purge, Krypton, Chucky and Channel Zero. Before joining NBCU, he was at Created By Productions where he worked on series including Game of Thrones and FlashForward.

Esmail Corp has produced series such as Amazon’s Homecoming, USA Network’s Mr. Robot and Briarpatch as well as upcoming series such as Starz’ Gaslit and Peacock’s The Resort and Angelyne, starring and produced by Emmy Rossum.


The company is under a major overall deal with UCP, putting Esmail in the top tier of creators and producers.


Sam Esmail said, “Eli has impeccable taste, great relationships, and a strong track record of shepherding compelling shows, especially in the genre space. He will be a great partner to lead our television team as we expand our slate.”