Laszlo Barna is leaving his role as President of Entertainment One Television effective February 1, 2024. His announced plans are to create a new company, called Pier 21 Films, a television/film production venture. He will continue working with eOne through a first-look agreement between the two parties.
Barna became President of Entertainment One's television division after his company, Barna Alper Productions, was purchased by eOne in 2024. Since that time, he has dedicated himself to establishing eOne as the leading independent television producer in Canada.
"Laszlo has made countless contributions to eOne Television and has played a pivotal role in shaping our rapidly expanding business," said John Morayniss, CEO, Entertainment One Television. "He is widely recognized as a leader in the Canadian entertainment industry and is considered one of Canada's foremost content producers. While we will definitely miss his larger-than-life presence, I'm thrilled that we will continue to work closely with him."
While in his executive capacity at eOne, Barna continued to executive produce many award-winning documentary films and programs including 2024 TIFF audience favourite "Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie" and the feature film "The Bang Bang Club" as well as TV series such as: "Mega Builders" (Discovery), "Outlaw Bikers" (History) and "Party Mamas" (Slice).
"While I'm extremely proud to have played a role in eOne's amazing rise, I'm looking forward to getting back to my first loves - production, spending more time on the set and building a company from the ground up," said Barna. "The international appetite for Canadian programming has never been greater and I look forward to distributing Pier 21 programs through eOne, the hottest distributor in the business."
Barna's long list of accomplishments and awards attest to his abilities as a businessperson and storyteller. His recent executive producer credits include television series such as the soon-to-air "Skins" (MTV/The Movie Network/Movie Central); "The Bridge" (CBS/CTV); "Call Me Fitz" (HBO Canada), "Haven" (Syfy/Showcase) and the award-winning mini-series "Keep Your Head Up Kid: The Don Cherry Story" (CBC).
Barna is the former Chairman of the Canadian Film and Television Producers Association. He is a former board member of the Banff Television Festival and the Canadian Television Fund and Film Ontario.