Steve Stark’s Toluca Pictures Extends MGM TV Overall Deal, Expands Amazon MGM Studios First-Look Pact & Taps Max Kisbye As President

EXCLUSIVE: Steve Stark has extended and expanded his relationship with Amazon MGM Studios and its MGM Television division. His production company Toluca Pictures has signed a multi-year extension of its exclusive overall deal with MGM Television. Once again, it will include a first-look deal with Amazon MGM Studios, which is now being expanded beyond scripted TV to also include feature films and documentaries.

Former MGM Television President Stark has named longtime MGM television executive Max Kisbye as President of Television & Film at Toluca Pictures. Kisbye succeeds Stacey Levin who recently left the company.

Kisbye will work with Stark overseeing Toluca Pictures’ development and production operations. Additionally, the company has promoted longtime development executives Jessica Farrelly and Elan Fingles, along with creative executive Mia Stelling.

“I am thrilled to have Max joining Toluca Pictures,” Stark said. “He is an exceptional executive with tremendous creative instincts, a go-getter with an incredible understanding of the business and, most importantly, a friend with a real passion for great storytelling. We have an incredibly ambitious slate ahead of us, and I couldn’t be more excited to have him alongside me. I’m equally excited to be expanding the roles of Jessica, Elan and Mia, who have been such an important part of building Toluca.”

Stark and Kisbye have been friends for more than 20 years. Kisbye was a TV lit agent at CAA when Stark, then President of MGM Television TV, hired him as VP of Television Production in 2012. Kisbye most recently served as Senior Manager of Creative Development in MGM’s TV Scripted group.

“I’ve always admired Steve’s instincts and his fearlessness in following them—whether that leads to a historical epic, a dark comedy, a documentary or something no one expects,” Kisbye said. “That spirit is what makes Toluca so exciting to me.”

Stark launched Toluca Pictures in 2021 with a five-year overall deal at MGM Television after a nine-year stint as president of the TV studio.

Toluca’s current slate includes flagship Netflix series Wednesday, which recently wrapped principal photography on its third season. The company also has coming up Nordic historical epic Bloodaxe, which is slated to premiere in January on Prime Video, as well as Mexican superhero series El Gato Negro, also for Prime Video. The company is in production on the second season of Hulu’s The Testaments and is set to begin production in 2027 on Fear Not, a true-story thriller starring Anne Hathaway for Paramount+.

“Steve and I have been creative partners for years, and what he’s built at Toluca is a testament to his extraordinary taste and drive to make great content,” said Lindsay Sloane, Head of MGM Television. “From Wednesday to Bloodaxe to The Testaments, the range and ambition of what Toluca delivers is remarkable. And having worked closely with Max, I’ve seen his talent and passion firsthand.”

Stark was under a producing deal with Universal Television in 2011 when he was recruited by Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum and Roma Khanna to relaunch MGM Television following the studio’s 2010 bankruptcy. Some of the series he launched during his tenure building up the division include The Handmaid’s Tale for Hulu, Fargo for FX, and Vikings for History.

Since he launched Toluca in 2021, the company has also produced the series The Consultant, starring Oscar winner Christoph Waltz for Amazon Prime Video, Vikings: Valhalla for Netflix, and The Bombing of Pan Am 103, which recently premiered on Netflix and BBC, as well as the documentary The Devil’s Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes.

“I’m incredibly grateful to Lindsay Sloane and my friends and colleagues at MGM Television, who have been extraordinary partners throughout this journey,” Stark said. “I’m also thankful for the continued support of Mike Hopkins, Peter Friedlander, and Kara Smith at Amazon MGM Studios.”

Stark is repped by CAA and attorney Greg Slewett at JSSK. Kisbye is repped by David Matlof of Hirsch, Wallerstien, Hayum, Matlof and Fishman.