In a continued bid to build its U.S. scripted pipeline, CJ ENM America has appointed Courteney Tarantin as vice president of scripted television, the company said on Wednesday. Tarantin, based in L.A., will report to Elsie Choi, the executive vp overseeing CJ ENM’s English‑language development efforts. Tarantin will play a leadership role in curating and shepherding original English-language series while also adapting titles from CJ ENM’s deep pool of popular Korean IP for global audiences.
Tarantin arrives from Rideback, where she developed and sold scripted series to Amazon, Paramount+, Hulu, Showtime, CBS, The CW, ABC, and NBC. Standouts included her work on Walker, the CW hit that premiered in 2021 and ran for four seasons, as well as its prequel Walker: Independence. Both shows were produced under Rideback’s first-look with CBS TV Studios. Earlier tenures at CAA and Sony Pictures Television saw her work on Hulu’s Shut Eye and Amazon’s Good Girls Revolt and The Last Tycoon.
“Courteney brings an exceptional blend of creative instincts, strategic thinking, and deep industry experience to CJ ENM America at a pivotal time in our scripted expansion,” said Choi. “Her track record of championing distinctive voices and delivering compelling series across platforms aligns perfectly with our mission to build global stories that resonate.”
CJ ENM America is the Los Angeles-based gateway to the broader South Korean entertainment conglomerate, CJ Group, which is behind everything from Bong Joon-ho’s multi-Oscar-winning film Parasite to premium content producer Fifth Season and slews of hit K-dramas from its Studio Dragon subsidiary, as well as the annual KCON Korean pop culture convention held in California every August.
