Michael Edelstein

Michael Edelstein (born February 20, 1968) is the President of NBCUniversal International Studios. Based in London, Edelstein’s role is to oversee development and production across NBCUniversal’s diverse International Television Production business, creating high-quality scripted and non-scripted programming in all genres.

Under Edelstein’s leadership, NBCUniversal International Television Production has become the premier international studio for English language content outside the United States. Edelstein is known for developing and widely distributing programming that has market leverage, excellent creative content and entertains global audiences, such as Made in Chelsea and Downton Abbey.

Edelstein began his career in episodic television working for Leslie Moonves at CBS Entertainment as Director of Current Programmes. There he supervised a number of series on the network’s primetime schedule. Most notably, he was instrumental in the launch and creative oversight of the hit procedural drama series CSI.

Together with Marc Cherry and Tom Spezialy, Edelstein was one of the original executive producers for Desperate Housewives. For this, Edelstein was awarded an Emmy nomination and won two Golden Globes for best comedy series.

In addition to Desperate Housewives, Edelstein has been executive producer for the thriller series Threat Matrix, and the sitcom Hope & Faith, as well as telefilms Haunting Sarah, from 2005, and Him and Us, from 2006.

Just prior to joining NBCUniversal, Edelstein worked on the 2009 space drama, Defying Gravity. He raised $20 million outside the US as executive producer of the show, thus making himself a key figure in the establishment of the current international co-production model; Defying Gravity was later sold to ABC.

Edelstein was named President of NBCUniversal International Television Production in June 2010, when he then relocated to London to work in NBCU’s Oxford Street HQ.

Since 2010, Edelstein’s division has significantly expanded its portfolio of production companies via acquisitive and organic growth. The International Television Production division now houses seven leading production companies across five continents, producing more than 170 hours of top-rated programming per year.

NBCUniversal International Television Production’s in-house production labels include Carnival, the creators of Emmy and Golden Globe-winning Downton Abbey, which has become one of Britain’s most successful exports of all time. Production labels also include the entertainment label, Monkey Kingdom, which produces BAFTA award-winning Made in Chelsea. Also included is Chocolate Media, a factual/entertainment label, and Lucky Giant, which specialises in comedy, notably Chris Guest’s HBO/BBC television series Family Tree starring Chris O’Dowd. Michael Edelstein played a key role in identifying Matchbox Pictures, an Australian production company responsible for The Slap. Matchbox was acquired by NBCUniversal International Television Productions in 2013.

Edelstein was also involved in securing an equity stake in Canadian company Lark Productions, the producers responsible for Real Housewives of Vancouver.

NBCU International Television Production has a producing deal with Tom Hardy’s production company, Hardy Son & Baker, to produce television in both the UK and US for the global marketplace.

On 13 April 2015, NBCUniversal International Television Production, Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland and TF1 announced they had entered into an international co-production partnership to produce original US-style TV procedural dramas, allowing these leading international broadcasters to secure a pipeline of high quality, US-style procedural content from NBCUniversal. This unique tripartite collaboration, conceived by Michael Edelstein, President of NBCU-ITVP, is designed to produce up to three new dramas over two years.

Edelstein sits on the board of Working Title TV (WTTV), a joint TV production venture with Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. WTTV produces drama and comedy programming for both UK and US broadcasters. Productions include About a Boy, which is currently airing on NBC.

In addition to the oversight of NBCUniversal International Television Production’s in-house production labels, Edelstein oversees the company’s successful formats business that represents rights to a broad range of programming, including reality, lifestyle, entertainment and scripted series created within the production and broadcast divisions of NBCUniversal.