Video Interview: Disney’s Orion Ross

NEW YORK: Orion Ross, the VP of original series for Disney Channels EMEA, talks about the strategy for producing animation in Europe.

Since 2009, Disney Channels EMEA has been ramping up its original-programming initiatives, with a London-based team that has been aligning with creatives across Europe to deliver content that will speak to local audiences, as well as play well on a global basis. Ross is leading the development of animated shows for both the flagship Disney Channel as well as Disney XD.

“We take a lot of pitches,” says Ross of where the ideas for these development projects come from. “Often things will come either from a writer who doesn’t have a visual idea yet or a studio attached, and we’ll put them together with a studio and help make that happen. Or, sometimes it’s design-based and there’s a designer that we love who’s come up with some great characters and we’ll find the right writing to go with it. Every project is set up in a different way and the fun thing—it’s also a challenge—is that we work in different ways on every project with different studios across Europe. We don’t have a one size fits all kind of production approach.”