Endemol Shine North America CEO Sharon Levy Exits After Nearly a Decade

Sharon Levy is exiting Banijay’s Endemol Shine North America after nearly a decade at the company — including most recently as CEO.

The restructure comes following this summer’s completion of the $8 billion merger between Banijay and All3Media, with Banijay Americas CEO Ben Samek overseeing the combined company’s U.S. entity.

“Sharon has played an integral role in building ESNA into the creative powerhouse it is today, and her influence has been felt across Banijay America and the wider Banijay group,” a Banijay Americas spokesperson said in a statement. “She has built a varied and healthy slate of titles that continue to thrive year-over year, spanning global franchises, creative IP extensions and scripted hits.”

As CEO, Levy led the indie Endemol Shine North America shingle’s output, which has included unscripted fare like “Lego Masters,” “MasterChef” and “Deal or No Deal,” as well as Netflix’s scripted series “Ripley.” She first joined Endemol Shine North America in 2017 as president, unscripted and scripted TV.

In 2021, Levy was named chief content officer, and then upped to CEO in 2023 at Endemol Shine North America as it shifted from its dual role as a studio and Banijay Americas’ holding company to solely an independent production company.

Besides the Emmy Award-nominated “Lego Masters” and the “MasterChef” and “MasterChef Junior” franchises on Fox, Levy’s oversight at Endemol Shine included Fox’s TBS’ revamped “Wipeout,” USA/Peacock’s “The Courtship,” the revived “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” for ABC, “Fear Factor: House of Fear” at Fox, “Deal or No Deal Island” at NBC and “The Summit” on CBS.

Prior to her time at Endemol Shine, Levy was executive vice president of original series for Spike TV for seven years, where she led acquisition, creation and production of the network’s entertainment with shows like “Ink Master,” “Bar Rescue,” “Auction Hunters” and “Deadliest Warrior.”