Michael Edelstein is President of NBCUniversal International Studios. Based in London, he has strategic oversight of the international television production division, a leading supplier of English language content originated outside of the United States.
Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winning executive producer of the global phenomenon Desperate Housewives, Edelstein assumed his role in June 2010. Since that time, he has devised and executed a strategy to build International Studios from inception into one of the most respected content players on the international landscape, producing premium television for global audiences including the UK’s biggest television export of all time, Downton Abbey.
Under his leadership, NBCUniversal International Studios has become a top destination for writers, producers, directors and format creators, producing high-quality scripted and non-scripted programming across all genres. The division houses eight leading production companies on four continents, creating more than 250 hours of programming per year.
NBCUniversal International Studios portfolio includes Carnival Films, producers of Downton Abbey, The Last Kingdom and Jamestown; Working Title Television, a joint venture with acclaimed filmmakers, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, producers of award-winning films such as, Four Weddings and Funeral, The Theory of Everything and The Danish Girl; Monkey, producers of the hit structured-reality series Made In Chelsea; Australian-based Matchbox Pictures, two-time recent winners of the Production Business of the Year award by the Screen Producers of Australia; and a joint venture with Lark Productions, producers of the Canadian crime procedural Motive.
In 2015, he teamed with David Heyman, producer of the Harry Potter franchise, Gravity, and Paddington to form Heyday Television. This joint venture with NBCUniversal is a vehicle to bring Heyman’s acclaimed and unique storytelling vision to television audiences globally.
Edelstein, in 2015, also brokered a first of its kind co-production partnership with Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland and TF1 to produce original US-style TV procedural dramas directly for the International market. Previously in his career, he established the current international co-production trend as executive producer of Defying Gravity, having raised $20 million outside the US, to make a US television series that later sold to ABC.
In addition, Edelstein oversees NBCUniversal International Formats, the international sales division for all television formats created or owned by NBCUniversal. Last year, formats were licenced across 30 territories including hit titles, Law & Order, Real Housewives and Top Chef.
Edelstein began his career in episodic television working for Leslie Moonves at CBS Entertainment as Director of Current Programs, where 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 series CSI.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Edelstein graduated from The University of California, Los Angeles magna cum laude and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society. He is currently based in London.
