Channing Dungey—former president of ABC Entertainment and vice president of original series at Netflix—is the new chair of Warner Bros. Television Group, said Ann Sarnoff, chair and CEO, WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group on Monday.

Dungey was expected to be named to the post, with reports published on Oct. 9 saying she had stepped down from her position at Netflix to pursue the opportunity. At the time, she was expected to succeed Susan Rovner, who departed Warner Bros. to become chair of entertainment content at NBCUniversal. Instead, Dungey will be succeeding longtime WBTV Group Chair Peter Roth in the position. WarnerMedia announced Roth’s departure on Friday.

RELATED: Peter Roth Stepping Down as Chairman of Warner Bros. Television

“This is a homecoming of sorts for Channing, who was a production executive at Warner Bros. early in her career, and we’re excited to have her rejoin the Studio,” said Sarnoff in a statement. “Channing is one of the most talented, visionary, creative and respected executives working in television today. She has impeccable taste, a breadth of experience covering all platforms and genres, incredible relationships across the creative community and a keen sense of what’s next and how best to get it to audiences. She’s a great choice to lead the Television Group as it continues to grow its production operations for HBO Max, while also maintaining its standing as the industry’s leading independent supplier of programming to all outlets.”

“The Warner Bros. Television Group is the recognized industry leader in content creation and a true destination for talent based on its ability to produce across all genres and for all outlets,” said Dungey, also in a statement. “I’m thrilled to be joining the company at such a pivotal time in its history and look forward to working with my new colleagues at Warner Bros. and across the Studios and Networks Group to build on the incredible work of my predecessor, Peter Roth. This is such an electric time in our industry, and we have so much opportunity available to us between Warner Bros.’ core businesses and HBO Max, I cannot wait to dive in.”

Dungey most recently served as vice president of original series at Netflix. During that time, she played a part in bringing Game of Thrones creators and executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to Netflix, as well as championing a number of new overall producing deals with talent, including Regina King, Mara Brock Akil, Bill Prady, Michael Green, and Gina Rodriguez. She shepherded such high-profile series as Self Made: Inspired By The Life of Madam CJ Walker, starring Octavia Spencer, the Hilary Swank starrer Away, and two series from Shonda Rhimes: the romantic period drama Bridgerton, and a yet-to-be-titled series inspired by the life of real-life conwoman Anna Delvey. She was also involved in the acquisition of Darren Starr’s series Emily In Paris, which recently debuted on the service.

Prior to that, she served as president of ABC Entertainment, overseeing all development, programming, marketing and scheduling operations for ABC primetime and late-night. During her tenure, she shepherded such programs on to the network as The Good Doctor, as well as guided American Idol’s return to broadcast television. ABC was the most social network on air under her leadership, raising platforms for series such as black-ish, How to Get Away with Murder and The Goldbergs, and helping reinvigorate long-running series such as Grey’s Anatomy.

Dungey joined the network’s drama development department in June 2009, during which time she developed and launched such series as Scandal, Quantico, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., American Crime and Once Upon a Time. Prior to that, she oversaw development and acquisition of drama programming for ABC Studios, where her slate included Shondaland’s Private Practice, and CBS’s long-running drama Criminal Minds, among many others.

Dungey’s experience in entertainment spans both television and film. She partnered with Pamela Post, and formed Dexterity Pictures, a production partnership focused on making both studio and independent films, as well as developing television series. She also served as president of Material, a film production company with a first-look deal at Warner Bros. Prior to that, she served for five years as a Warner Bros. production executive, helping to develop and supervise a diverse range of commercially successful, critically acclaimed films.

Dungey, who graduated magna cum laude from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, has been a visiting professor at the school and serves on the school’s Executive Board. She is also a founding and current board member of Step Up, and a board member of Children’s Institute. Dungey is a Los Angeles member of BAFTA and serves on the Motion Picture Television Foundation Board of Governors.

Tags: career moves channing dungey peter roth warner bros. tv group


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