Peter Rice

Peter Rice (born 1966) is a British American media producer and media executive. He joined 20th Century Fox in 1989 and was later named president of its former parent company, 21st Century Fox, just before its acquisition by the Walt Disney Company. He then served as chairman of Walt Disney Television (later Disney General Entertainment Content and now Disney Entertainment Television) until he was ousted by former CEO Bob Chapek.

Early life Rice was born and raised in the United Kingdom in 1966 United Kingdom. He earned a degree from the University of Nottingham in 1989. In 2000, Rice became President of Fox Searchlight Pictures, beginning in 2000. From 2007 to 2008, he also oversaw Fox Atomic, which created comedy and genre films, including Turistas and 28 Weeks Later. Fox Atomic was closed in 2009, after Rice moved to Fox's television business.

Rice became chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group in 2012, supervising Fox Broadcasting Company, 20th Century Fox Television, FX Networks, Fox Sports (encompassing Fox’s national sports channels, FS1 and FS2 and its 22 regional sports networks) and National Geographic Partners (which includes the National Geographic channels and brands).

Rice was appointed president of 21st Century Fox in 2017. Rice continued to serve as chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group, which included all of Fox’s TV assets, with the exception of Fox News, which was run separately. He was also the chairman of the board of National Geographic Partners and Fox's lead executive on the board of directors for Hulu.

Disney Rice joined The Walt Disney Company in 2019 following its purchase of many of the assets of 21st Century Fox. Upon joining, Rice became the chairman of Walt Disney Television (all of Disney's non-sports television businesses).

As chairman of Walt Disney Television, Rice oversaw the production of over 300 shows and 4,000 hours of television per year across Disney’s family of networks and streaming platforms Disney+ and Hulu. Disney earned 147 Primetime Emmy Award nominations in 2022 and 146 in 2021. While with Disney, Rice served as chairman of the board of A&E Networks and continued to serve as chairman of the board of National Geographic Partners.

On 9 June 2022, Rice was fired from The Walt Disney Company by Bob Chapek.

Producer On 1 June 2023, Rice made a nonexclusive deal with the independent entertainment company A24.

In 2024, Rice produced Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night for Columbia Pictures. In 2025, he produced Warfare written and directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland for A24, and 28 Years Later written by Alex Garland and directed by Danny Boyle for Columbia. Rice is also listed as a producer for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple written by Alex Garland and directed by Nia DaCosta.

Rice’s projects in development include Misty Green, written and to be directed by Chris Rock and Elden Ring, written and to be directed by Alex Garland. In TV, Rice is developing Fairy Tale with Paul Greengrass.

Rice was hired to produce the Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies for Los Angeles 2028. LA28 CEO Casey Wassermann did not provide a budget.

Personal life Rice lives in Los Angeles with his family. He has two children. He serves on the board of governors of the Motion Picture & Television Fund.

Filmography + Year Film Credit 2024 Saturday Night Producer 2025 Warfare 28 Years Later 2026 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple The Social Reckoning 2028 Elden Ring