Laszlo Barna Exits Entertainment One With First-Look Deal

TORONTO -- Laszlo Barna is ankling Entertainment One next month as its TV division president, but not before inking a first-look deal for his new Canadian production outfit Pier 21 Films.

“While we will definitely miss his larger-than-life presence, I’m thrilled that we will continue to work closely with him,” Entertainment One Television CEO John Morayniss, based in Los Angeles, said Tuesday.

Barna will officially exit the Toronto-based Entertainment One on Feb. 1, two years after selling his production shingle Barna Alper Productions and its library to the mini-studio as it diversified into filmed entertainment.

While with Entertainment One, Barna’s executive producer credits include the CBS/CTV cop drama The Bridge, MTV’s Skins, the documentary Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie and the feature film The Bang Bang Club.

“While I’m extremely proud to have played a role in Entertainment One’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,” Barna said in his own statement.