Earlier this year we discussed Charlize Theron’s rise as a power producer, and now she is making power moves, setting up a production deal with HBO and HBO Max. Through her Denver and Delilah banner, Theron will produce film and television projects for HBO/Max, along with her co-producers A.J. Dix and Beth Kono. D&D also recently poached Andrew Haas from Johnny Galecki—together they produced SciJinks and Living Biblically, though you will be more familiar with Haas’s film work, I Love You, Man and…Green Lantern—to manage D&D’s TV slate. Theron and her team are positioning themselves to expand their reach on TV.
Theron’s production shingle was previously housed at Universal, where they produced many projects that ended up on Netflix, including The Old Guard, Mindhunter, and Girlboss. It’s just a two-year deal, but this move means that Theron’s relationship with Netflix is on hold, at best. It’s interesting given the dichotomy of her experience with Netflix. The Old Guard was a summer hit for them, but Mindhunter, despite being critically lauded, was an expensive show with a niche audience, and Girlboss outright bombed. Netflix is famously quick to cancel things, and none of Theron’s TV projects have flourished there. Now, when she is expanding her team to expand capability on the TV side, she has set up a deal with a cable outlet renowned for its taste-making TV shows (and its fledgling streaming sibling). I don’t think these things are a coincidence. If Charlize Theron wants to extend her power-producing from action films to hit television shows, partnering with the network that has made multiple era-defining series is the right move. With Netflix, Theron was mostly into book adaptations. It will be interesting to see what she brings to HBO.
