From 2010 to today, British TV mogul Paul Lee ran the ship at ABC Entertainment, but now that he’s stepped down, his successor has made history.
Channing Dungey, a black woman that’s been with the company for over a decade and helped develop some of its most high-profile activations, including new hits Quantico and How to Get Away With Murder, will step in as ABC Entertainment’s new president. The promotion makes Dungey the first black person ever to be the president of a broadcast network; she previously served as the Vice President of Drama, which explains why other shows like Scandal, Once Upon a Time and Criminal Minds populate her resume.
President of Disney/ABC Television Group Ben Sherwood said today that Dungey is a “gifted leader and a proven magnet for top creative talent, with an impressive record of developing compelling, breakthrough programming that resonates with viewers.” Incidentally, the moves comes just as shows like How to Get Away With Murder, Scandal and Black-ish, all shows starring black women in lead roles, catch fire as some of the network’s main attractions. It’ll be interesting to see how the network evolves under Dungey’s reign.
