Paul Lee is out as ABC’s head of entertainment, the New York Times reported Wednesday, with all of the Hollywood trades immediately following up.
Lee resigned as a result of a power struggle between himself and Ben Sherwood, chairman of the Disney-ABC Television Group. Channing Dungey, who has been ABC’s executive VP of drama, will take the reins at ABC. Notably, she’s the first African-American woman to lead a broadcast network.
“Channing 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,” said Sherwood in a statement. “We thank Paul for his many accomplishments at ABC and his devotion to the ABC brand, and we wish him continued success in the future.”
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Lee has run ABC since 2010. “Leading ABC has been a fantastic experience,” he said, also in a statement. “I’m especially proud of the incredible team I built and the strategic, creative vision we established and successfully executed for both the network and studio.
Under both Lee and Dungey, ABC has developed and launched such shows as Scandal, Quantico, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., How to Get Away with Murder, American Crime, Once Upon A Time, Secrets and Lies and Nashville. Dungey has been with ABC and ABC Studios since 2004.
Brief Take: Running a broadcast network is typically a short-lived and thankless job and all the more so in this age of on-demand TV that’s leaving the broadcast networks behind.
Read more: The New York Times, Variety
[Photo courtesy of Variety]
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