Channing Dungey


Channing Nicole Dungey is an American television executive and the first black American president of a major broadcast television network.

Early life

Dungey was born in Sacramento, California, to Don and Judith Dungey. The eldest of two daughters, Dungey's younger sister is actress Merrin Dungey. Dungey attended Rio Americano High School, where she was a cheerleader; later graduating in 1986. In 1991, Dungey graduated from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.

Career

Dungey began her career in entertainment as a development assistant for Davis Entertainment. 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, Heat, The Matrix, and The Devil's Advocate. Dungey joined ABC Studios in the summer of 2004 and worked as head of drama. Dungey was hired as president of ABC Entertainment on February 17, 2016, replacing Paul Lee. Dungey oversaw the development of ABC Studios shows such as Scandal, Criminal Minds, How to Get Away with Murder, Nashville, Quantico, Army Wives and Once Upon A Time, as well as the second cancellation of Roseanne on May 29, 2018. Dungey previously defended Roseanne over racially controversial jokes made on the show. Dungey was ABC Entertainment's president when a 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. 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 had hired Dungey as their new vice president of original content. Dungey will report to Cindy Holland, Netflix’s vice president of original content. Netflix said Dungey will work closely with fellow ABC alums Shonda Rhimes and Kenya Barris, as well as with other top Netflix talent.

Personal life

Dungey has been married to Scott Power since 2003.