There’s a new president of ABC Entertainment. Channing Dungey, who was evp of drama development, movies and miniseries for the network, replaces Paul Lee, who resigned Wednesday as president of the division.
The move was unexpected—Lee was already looking ahead to next season when he sat with Adweek last month for what turned out to be one of his final interviews as entertainment chief at the network. “I love taking risks… and sometimes we fall on our faces,” Lee said, as he touched on his legacy at ABC. “You build networks… not over a season but over a course of years.”
The news comes a year after Ben Sherwood, with whom Lee is said to have clashed, took over as president of Disney/ABC TV Group. Dungey, an ABC veteran known by many as the Shonda Rhimes whisperer, becomes the first female African-American to run a broadcast network. In her new role, effective immediately, she will report to Sherwood. The shakeup comes nearly six years into Lee’s tenure at the Disney-owned network. His big bet on diversity yielded strong ratings and critical accolades for a slate that included such shows as How To Get Away With Murder and Black-ish.
