Channing Dungey Tapped as New Warner Bros. Television Chair

Former ABC Entertainment president and Netflix TV executive Channing Dungey will chair Warner Bros. Television Group beginning next year, succeeding longtime chairman Peter Roth, who announced his impending departure late last week. In her new role, Dungey, who most recently served as vp of original series at Netflix, will be responsible for overseeing new television projects, including for burgeoning streamer HBO Max, and for WarnerMedia’s other television properties. “Channing is one of the most talented, visionary, creative and respected executives working in television today,” WarnerMedia studios and networks chair and CEO Ann Sarnoff—who Dungey will report to—said in a statement. “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.” Dungey is a seasoned television executive who in her most recent role at Netflix helped bring Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and signed talent like Watchmen’s Regina King to the streamer in overall producing deals. She was involved in the streamer’s acquisition of the Darren Starr original Emily in Paris, which so far this month has been among Netflix’s most-popular titles on the service. Among other projects, Dungey worked on two series from Shonda Rhimes, including the upcoming period drama Bridgerton. Prior to her two-year stint at Netflix, Dungey served as president of ABC Entertainment, where she oversaw development, programming, marketing and scheduling operations for ABC’s prime time and late-night line-ups. Dungey's tenure at ABC extended for 14 years, and she oversaw ABC Entertainment for two. During her time, she developed, launched or acquired shows like Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Private Practice and Scandal. “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,” Dungey said 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’s appointment at the group had been rumored since she stepped down from her role at Netflix earlier this month, and was all but assured following Roth’s announcement Friday that he would exit the studio next year. Roth, who was chairman of the studio for 22 years, marked the latest in a series of high-profile exits from WarnerMedia as the company continues to undergo a streaming-centric transformation that has been accompanied by considerable cost-cutting measures. As part of that transformation, Warner Bros. Television Group has been moved under a new unit at the company, WarnerMedia’s Studios and Networks Group. That group also encompasses other programming and content teams like HBO and HBO Max, along with WBTV, WB Pictures Group, DC and WarnerMedia cable properties like TBS, TNT and truTV.

Programming & Performance

Channing Dungey Tapped as New Warner Bros. Television Chair, Succeeding Peter Roth

The former ABC Entertainment chief recently left Netflix to take on the new role

Kelsey Sutton

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Kelsey Sutton