Chris McCarthy is an American media executive who has served as the interim principal executive officer of

Paramount Global Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...

since 2024. He is one of three executives leading the office of the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

for the company and the president and

Showtime Networks Showtime Networks, Inc. is a subsidiary of American media conglomerate Paramount Global under its networks division that oversees the company's premium cable television channels, including its flagship namesake service. Overview The compan ...

and

MTV Entertainment Studios MTV Entertainment Studios (formerly MTV Production Development from 2003 until 2018 and MTV Studios from 2018 until 2021) is an American film and television production and distribution company and is the film and television production arm of ...

, where he oversees multiple brands, including

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

, and the

Paramount Network Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are located a ...

Early life and education

McCarthy grew up in

Levittown, Pennsylvania Levittown is a census-designated place (CDP) and planned community in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area. The population was 52,699 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

. His parents both worked two jobs, his father at a chemical plant and as a janitor, his mother at a steel mill and a mall. McCarthy began working at

Chick-fil-A Chick-fil-A, Inc. ( , a Word play, play on the American English pronunciation of "wikt:filet#Pronunciation, filet") is an American fast food restaurant chain and the largest chain specializing in Chicken burger, chicken sandwiches. Headquarter ...

in his teens, becoming manager at 16. Seeking to leave Levittown, he enrolled at

Drexel University Drexel University is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony Joseph Drexel, Anthony J. Drexel, a financier ...

and received a

bachelor of science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in engineering and commerce from in 1998, then a

master of business administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree from

Wharton Business School The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 2003.

Career

McCarthy worked for

McNeil Consumer Healthcare McNeil Consumer Healthcare is an American medicals products company belonging to Kenvue consumer health group. It primarily sells fast-moving consumer goods such as over-the-counter drugs. History The company was founded on March 16, 1879, by 2 ...

and chemical company

Ciba-Geigy Novartis AG is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was the eighth largest by revenue in 2024. Novartis manufactures the drugs ...

in production and marketing after graduation. A gay man, he developed a strong interest in

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

while in college, and noted to ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' that ''

The Real World ''The Real World'' (known as ''Real World'' from 2014 to 2017) is an American reality television series produced through MTV and Bunim/Murray Productions that most recently aired on Facebook Watch after airing on MTV from 1992 to 2017. It wa ...

'' showed him what life could be like if he were open about his sexuality. He met with

Jeff Probst Jeffrey Lee Probst (; born November 4, 1961) is an American television presenter and producer and young adult fiction writer. He is best known as the Emmy Awards, Emmy Award–winning host of the American version of the reality television show ' ...

and together pitched two shows to

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

and CMT. The latter, '' Gone Country'', ran for four seasons. McCarthy started working for

ViacomCBS Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...

in 2004. His first position with the company was as a freelancer marketing

MTVU MTVU (formerly stylized as MtvU and mtvU) is an American digital cable TV channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group, a unit of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. MTVU programming initially served 750 college and univ ...

-branded credit cards to college students, eventually becoming the marketing head for MTVU. He was promoted to general manager of the

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, through PMN’s MTV Entertainment Group Subdivision. The channel launched initially as an all-music ...

network in 2010 and

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

in 2014. Under McCarthy's leadership, MTV2 rose in popularity with the 12 to 24-year-old male demographic, from 21st to 5th, while Logo's viewer base grew for 10 consecutive quarters. McCarthy was named general manager of VH1 in 2015 and president of

, VH1 and Logo in 2016. He has been credited with increasing ratings at each network by making rapid changes, a process he described as being akin to "driving while changing the wheels." McCarthy became president of CMT in 2018 and launched several initiatives to make the network's programming more inclusive. Following the Viacom and CBS merger in 2019 and several internal reorganizations, McCarthy was named president of MTV Entertainment Group, where his purview expanded to include

TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division's MTV Entertainment Group. It was originally launched as Nick at Nite’s TV Land as a spinoff of Nick at Nite programing block consisting e ...

Smithsonian Channel The Smithsonian Channel is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its media networks division under MTV Entertainment Group. It offers video content inspired by the Smithsonian Institution's museums, research facil ...

and

Pop TV Pop TV is a Slovenian generalist television channel operated by Pro Plus d.o.o., a subsidiary of Central European Media Enterprises (CME), which is in turn owned by Czech investment company PPF. History It was established by ProPlus, CME's Sl ...

. In 2021, he was named

of the

MTV Entertainment Group Paramount Media Networks is the division of Paramount Global that oversees the operations of its television channels and online brands. The division was originally founded as MTV Networks in 1984, named after MTV. It would be known under this ...

and added oversight of global properties to his responsibilities. McCarthy renegotiated a contract with

Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actor. He starred in and co-created the satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006) before quitting in the middle ...

after Chappelle asked for ''

Chappelle's Show ''Chappelle's Show'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedians Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show and starring in the majority of its sketches. Chappelle, Brennan, and Michele Armour were ...

'' to be removed from streaming platforms, as his previous contract did not provide additional compensation for the show being placed on those platforms. Chappelle thanked McCarthy for renegotiating the contract and returning the

license A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

to the show to him. As head of the group, McCarthy has expanded several franchises, including making a deal with ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

'' creators

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''South Park'' (1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative part ...

and

Matt Stone Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon (musical), The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his cre ...

to create new seasons of the show and movies based on the show for

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

, reaching two agreements with ''Yellowstone'' co-creator

Taylor Sheridan Sheridan Taylor Gibler Jr. (born May 21, 1970), known professionally as Taylor Sheridan, is an American writer, producer, director and actor. He is best known as the co-creator of the television series ''Yellowstone'' and creator of its prequels ...

to develop the ''Yellowstone'' franchise, including ''

1883 Events January * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * January 16 – ...

'' and '' Mayor of Kingstown'', and greenlighting '' Acapulco Shore'' and '' The Challenge: War of the Worlds'' to expand the ''

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore, commonly called the Shore by locals, is the coast, coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The term encompasses about of shore, oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy in the n ...

'' and '' The Challenge'' franchises. He has been credited with "revitalizing" MTV by rebooting ''Jersey Shore'' and creating '' Floribama Shore'', as well as greenlighting a number of shows, including a reboots of ''

Beavis and Butt-head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, Stupi ...

'' and spinoff of ''

Daria ''Daria'' is an American adult animation, adult animated sitcom television series created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis, Susie Lewis Lynn. The series ran from March 3, 1997, to January 21, 2002, on MTV. It centers on the titular character, D ...

'' that was not released to the public after completion. McCarthy has also been credited with lengthening ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...

'' and bringing '' John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch'' to Comedy Central, although the latter did not materialize. McCarthy began overseeing

in January 2023 and merged Showtime's streaming service with Paramount+ and the organization with

. In April 2024, McCarthy, with

Brian Robbins Brian Robbins (born Brian Levine, November 22, 1963) is an American film producer, director, and executive. He is the Co-CEO of Paramount Global; President and Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon; and Chief Content Offi ...

and George Cheeks, became one of three executives leading the Office of the CEO for

. For regulatory purposes regarding the practices of the SEC, McCarthy was named as the "interim principal executive officer" of the company. McCarthy served on the board of the Peabody organization. McCarthy received

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

at the 42nd and

44th Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards The 44th Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony, which honors the crafts behind American daytime television programming, was held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California on April 28, 2017. The event was presented in conjuncti ...

for ''Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word'' and ''Out of Iraq'', respectively. In 2024, McCarthy was ranked Number 3 on Fortune's 2024 LGBTQ+ Leaders list.

Social impact

McCarthy has emphasized diversity, equity, inclusion, and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

causes during his leadership, including creating the first-ever gender-neutral acting award for the

MTV Movie & TV Awards The MTV Movie & TV Awards is a film and television awards show previously presented annually on MTV. It began as the MTV Movie Awards in 1992, when its first edition was held, and adopted its current name in 2017, beginning with its 26th editio ...

and renaming the

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

statuette the "Moon Person" to be more inclusive. In 2021, MTV hosted its European Music Awards in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, honoring

LGBTQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group i ...

activists at the ceremony to counter anti-LGBTQ+ laws passed earlier that year. McCarthy has also pushed to address how

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

is portrayed on the brands he oversees. He brought together a team of media industry and mental health professionals to write a guide on creating responsible mental health representations in 2021. McCarthy also organized internal workshops within

on mental health representations and panels with other industry members to discuss mental health portrayals as part of the Better Together Storytelling Summit. McCarthy and

chief creative officer The title Chief Creative Officer (CCO) typically describes the highest-ranking position of a creative team within a media company. Depending on the type of company, this position may be responsible for the overall look and feel of marketing, media, ...

Nina L. Diaz have pushed for increased diversity and inclusivity among their content producers, starting a $250 million initiative to hire more diverse creators for the networks' shows and launching the First-Time Directors Program to produce more movies from

BIPOC The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...

and women filmmakers.

References

American television executives Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American LGBTQ businesspeople University of Pennsylvania alumni Drexel University alumni LGBTQ people from Pennsylvania People from Levittown, Pennsylvania Businesspeople from Pennsylvania Paramount Global people LGBTQ mass media people American chief executives in the mass media industry 21st-century American businesspeople Gay businessmen Mass media people from Pennsylvania {{improve categories, date=June 2024