Hulu Names New Head of Originals

Beatrice Springborn joins the online streamer from Storyline Entertainment.

Hulu continues to staff up its content team with the appointment of Beatrice Springborn as head of originals.

Springborn will join the online streamer on Monday from Storyline Entertainment, where she served as head of television, developing and producing projects that include the upcoming MTV series Happyland. Prior to Storyline Entertainment, she was senior vp at Caryn Mandabach Productions, overseeing development of genre and book adaptations for the international market. She also worked as executive vp TV and film production and development at Valhalla Motion Pictures, which produced and developed AMC's The Walking Dead.

Her appointment comes two months after Warner Horizon veteran Craig Erwich joined Hulu to head up the company's content initiatives. She replaces Charlotte Koh in the role, who departed the company after Erwich's hire.

"Beatrice has a strong background in television and a passion for Hulu," Erwich wrote in a blog post announcing Springborn's hire. "She will be at the helm to help us identify, initiate and drive the sourcing, development and production of premium shows in the Hulu Originals slate -- shows that are smart, distinctive and executed with the highest quality bar."

Last year, Hulu launched five new original series, including half-hour drama East Los High and dark comedy Deadbeat. Although they did not draw the same attention that rival Netflix has with dramas House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, Hulu has brought all of them back for second seasons. The streamer noted during its May NewFronts presentation that it will invest more heavily in developing and producing original series and will triple its marketing budget next year to promote those projects.