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Channing Nicole Dungey (born March 14, 1969) is an American television executive and the first black American president of a major broadcast television network. In 2020, she was announced as the new chairwoman and CEO of
Warner Bros. Television Studios Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...
.


Early life

Dungey was born in
Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
, to Don and Judith Dungey. She is the oldest of two daughters; her younger sister is actress
Merrin Dungey Merrin Melissa Dungey (born August 6, 1971) is an American film and television actress, known for her roles on the television series '' The King of Queens'', ''Alias'', '' Malcolm in the Middle'', '' Summerland'', '' Conviction'', '' The Resident ...
. Dungey attended Rio Americano High School where she was a cheerleader and held a 2.4 GPA. She graduated in 1986. In 1991, Dungey graduated from the
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...
.


Career

Dungey began her career in entertainment as a development assistant for producers J. Todd Harris and Joseph M. Singer. She later joined Warner Bros. as a production assistant, where she helped develop and supervise a number of commercially successful films including ''
The Bridges of Madison County ''The Bridges of Madison County'' (also published as ''Love in Black and White'') is a 1992 best-selling romance novel by American writer Robert James Waller that tells the story of a married Italian-American woman (WWII war bride) living on a ...
'' (1995), ''
Heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
'' (1995), ''
The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...
'' (1999), and '' The Devil's Advocate'' (1997). Dungey joined
ABC Studios ABC Signature is an American television production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...
in the summer of 2004 and worked as head of drama. Dungey was hired as president of
ABC Entertainment The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Calif ...
on February 17, 2016, replacing Paul Lee. This appointment made her the first Black executive to run a major network's entertainment division. Dungey oversaw the development of ABC Studios shows such as ''
Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...
'', ''
Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...
'', ''
How to Get Away with Murder ''How to Get Away with Murder'' is an American legal thriller television series that premiered on ABC on September 25, 2014, and concluded on May 14, 2020. The series was created by Peter Nowalk, and produced by Shonda Rhimes and ABC Studios ...
'', ''
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...
'', '' Quantico'', ''
Army Wives ''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The s ...
'', and '' Once Upon a Time''. She was president of the division during the second cancellation of ''
Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Williams and Roseanne Barr which aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Barr as Rosea ...
'' on May 29, 2018. Dungey previously defended ''
Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Williams and Roseanne Barr which aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Barr as Rosea ...
'' over racially controversial jokes made on the show. She was ABC Entertainment's president when a ''
Black-ish ''Black-ish'' (stylized as black·''ish'', `black·''ish'', and black''ish'') is an American sitcom television series created by Kenya Barris. It aired on ABC from September 24, 2014, to April 19, 2022, running for eight seasons. ''Black-ish'' ...
'' episode was pulled from the schedule. Dungey noted ABC executives disagreed with the creative direction of the episode, wherein the writers touched on NFL players kneeling during the American national anthem to protest police brutality and show support for Black human rights. On November 16, 2018, Dungey left her role as President of the ABC Entertainment Group in advance of management changes triggered by Disney's takeover of
21st Century Fox Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., doing business as 21st Century Fox (21CF), was an American multinational mass media corporation that was based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was one of the two companies formed on June 28, 2013, fo ...
.Holloway, Daniel and Littleton, Cynthia
"How ABC Pulled Off a Stealth Transition for Channing Dungey and Karey Burke"
Variety, November 16, 2018
Karey Burke, head of original programming for Disney's Freeform cable channel, took Dungey's position as head of ABC Entertainment. On December 17, 2018, it was reported that
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
had hired Dungey as their new vice president of original content. While at Netflix Dungey reported to Cindy Holland, Netflix's vice president of original content. She worked with fellow ABC alums Shonda Rhimes and
Kenya Barris Kenya Barris (born August 9, 1973) is an American film and television writer, producer, director, and actor. He is best known as the creator of the ABC sitcom ''black-ish'' (2014–2022). Early life Barris was born in Inglewood, California, t ...
at Netflix. She left
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
in October 2020. On October 19, 2020, it was announced that Dungey would succeed Peter Roth in the position of chairwoman of Warner Bros. Television Group, reporting to Ann Sarnoff. This role makes her one of few Black executives in a Hollywood television studio. On May 4, 2021, the
Chicago Red Stars The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) sin ...
of the
National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federati ...
announced that Dungey and her spouse Scott Power had joined the women's soccer team's ownership group.


Personal life

Married to Scott Power since 2003, Dungey serves on the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) Board of Governors.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dungey, Channing 1969 births Living people African-American businesspeople American television executives Businesspeople from Sacramento, California Presidents of American Broadcasting Company Entertainment Chicago Red Stars owners