Joel Kuwahara, co-founder and president of production at Fox-owned Bento Box Entertainment, has stepped down effective September 12, 2025, as the animation studio continues to be folded more tightly into Fox Entertainment Studios. The exit was reported Friday and confirmed in company statements.
In a note praising Kuwahara’s tenure, Fox Entertainment Studios head Fernando Szew said the producer’s vision helped shape the company and wished him well in future pursuits. Kuwahara leaves after 16 years at the studio he launched in 2009 with Scott Greenberg and Mark McJimsey; Greenberg remains, while McJimsey departed in 2016. Fox bought Bento Box in 2019 amid its broader post-Disney realignment of production assets.
People familiar with the transition said the parting is amicable and follows a decision by both sides not to renew Kuwahara’s contract; his last day was Friday. The move comes less than a month after Fox elevated longtime executive Dana Tafoya-Cameron to executive vice president and head of Bento Box Entertainment, a role that reports to Szew and signals a more centralized studio structure. Fox also appointed Netflix alum Michelle Huynh as EVP of studio content operations.
Bento Box’s portfolio spans broadcast and streaming, including Bob’s Burgers, The Great North, Krapopolis, Grimsburg, Hazbin Hotel, Central Park and Hoops, with production hubs in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Toronto and a joint venture in Melbourne. Kuwahara’s background includes posts at Sony and Warner Bros., and he has overseen the studio’s digital pipeline that underpins its primetime animation output.
