MrBeast Replaces Hollywood Studio Chief with Digital-Native Killion

MrBeast has named Justin Killion as interim head of MrBeast Studios, two people with knowledge of the situation told Business Insider. Killion, former president of Complex Networks, replaces Corie Henson, who left earlier this month after about a year in the role.

Killion's remit is narrower than Henson's. It does not cover "Beast Games," the competition show MrBeast is making with Amazon's Prime Video, or WatchTime Studios, a new unit focused on non-MrBeast video content. Beast Games remains under Tyler Conklin, the show's co-creator and executive producer. Adam Boorstin was named to lead WatchTime Studios earlier this month.

Killion reports to Jeff Housenbold, CEO of Beast Industries, MrBeast's holding company. He is based in Greenville, North Carolina, and also works from New York and Los Angeles. The role is interim with no fixed end date, one person said.

Henson came from NBCUniversal's unscripted TV division, part of a wave of hires with big-media pedigrees that Business Insider said reflected MrBeast's ambitions to build a Disney-style entertainment company. Killion brings a digital-media background. He was president of Complex Networks until 2023, the youth-culture publisher that BuzzFeed bought for $300 million in 2021. Since then, he has been managing partner of Bright Bay Creative, an external production company that has made more than 30 videos for MrBeast's main channel, including 2023's "7 Days Stranded At Sea," which has 438 million views. Bright Bay's client list includes YouTube and Procter & Gamble, according to its website.

The narrower scope of Killion's role and the recent appointments of Boorstin at WatchTime and Conklin on Beast Games suggest the company may not seek a direct replacement for Henson, one of the people said. The shift from a Hollywood executive to a digital-native operator signals a more focused studio strategy, tied closely to MrBeast's core content engine rather than broader media ambitions.