The Top 100 People Of Color In Media: Part 10: 10-1
From creators to executives, from technicians to producers, the world of media and entertainment offers thousands of professions that cross and merge, giving the people that work in it the opportunity to fully discover how creative potential and business acumen often overlap. It is fascinating to study the careers of some of these people, thus understanding which opportunities they were able to seize and when did “the right moment” happen. This is why A Hot Set has compiled a list of “The Top 100 People of Color In Media”, a weekly series that for ten Mondays explored a hundred of the most influential POCs in the entertainment industry. Below are numbers from 10 to 1, and you can find the previous article here.
Bela Bajaria - Michael Kovac
10. Bela Bajaria: Bela Bajaria is the Chief Content Officer of Netflix, named in 2023 after being Head of Global TV for three years. In her first role at Netflix, she oversaw unscripted television, and under her leadership the popular Queer Eye reboot and Nailed It! were launched. Bajaria was then put in charge of non-English language TV series as VP of Local-Language Originals, including international successes like La Casa de Papel, Lupin, and The Witcher. Now, as CCO, she manages and oversees all teams related to the acquisition and production of content.
Before her career at Netflix, Bajaria had a long 15-year tenure at CBS, where she was SVP of Cable Programming, as well as SVP of Movies and Miniseries. She later joined Universal Television (a subsidiary of NBCUniversal’s Universal Studio Group) as executive Vice President in 2011 and quickly rose to the position of President. During those years, she became President and later a Board Member of the Hollywood Radio & Television Society, which provides networking and mentorship opportunities to the most distinguished members of the industry. Bajaria is also a Board Member of Women in Film, a nonprofit organization that advocates for gender equality in the entertainment industry.
During her brilliant career in entertainment, she received multiple awards and accolades for her work, among which being named one of Time’s “100 Most Influential People of 2022”, one of Fortune’s “Most Powerful Women” in 2020, 2021, and 2022, and appearing in Variety’s “LA Women’s Impact Report”.
Gregory Cheeks - CBS
9. Gregory Cheeks: In March 2020, George Cheeks was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS. Cheeks oversees CBS-branded assets at Paramount, which includes the CBS Television Network, CBS Entertainment, CBS News, and CBS Sports, as well as CBS Studios, CBS Stations, CBS Media Ventures, and CBS-branded digital assets. Cheeks was appointed Chief Content Officer, News, and Sports, Paramount+ in June 2021, extending world-class content from CBS News and CBS Sports to the streaming super service, as well as responsibility for global content strategy for ViacomCBS' free-to-air networks in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Argentina.
Before joining CBS, Cheeks spent seven years at NBCUniversal in top executive positions spanning creative, business, and operational responsibilities. At NBCUniversal, Cheeks was the Vice Chairman of NBCUniversal Content Studios and oversaw NBC Entertainment's late-night programming. Cheeks joined NBC in 2012 after working in New York as Executive Vice President, Business Affairs and General Counsel, Viacom Music and Entertainment Groups, Content Distribution, and Marketing, as well as Head of Standards and Practices for Viacom Media Networks. He began his first term with Viacom in 1998 as Senior Counsel for MTV Networks in the Nickelodeon Group's Business and Legal Affairs Department. While there, he rose through the ranks, eventually becoming Executive Vice President and General Counsel for MTV, MTV2, MTVu, MTV Films, VH1, CMT, and LOGO in 2005.
From 1992 to 1994, Cheeks worked as an Entertainment Associate at Loeb & Loeb. In addition, from 1995 to 1997, he was Senior Counsel, Business and Legal Affairs at Castle Rock Entertainment, and from 1997 to 1998, he worked as an entertainment attorney at the Beverly Hills boutique firm Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, and Warren & Richman.
Dan Lin - Frazer Harrison
8. Dan Lin: Dan is the founder and CEO of Rideback, a global entertainment firm recognized for producing live-action and animated content. Lin's firm has produced films that have made over $5 billion in international box office since its inception in 2008. Lin has worked on films such as the LEGO Movie franchise, Stephen King's It horror films, and the Sherlock Holmes film franchise. Lin's most recent projects are Amblin Partners' Easter Sunday, featuring comedic star Jo Koy, and Disney's upcoming Haunted Mansion. Lin also produced The Two Popes for Netflix, which received three Oscar and four Golden Globe nominations. Lin is currently working on the live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender for Netflix and is in the pre-production of Interior Chinatown for Hulu, which is based on the acclaimed Charles Yu novel of the same name. Lin also worked with the Nobel Institute on the renowned NatGeo program Lost and Found.
Lin founded Rideback Rise to help People of Color writers, filmmakers, and creative entrepreneurs create mainstream entertainment that promotes racial fairness. The Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Doris Duke Foundation For Islamic Art, the Zelnick Belzberg Charitable Trust, and the UTA Foundation all contribute to Rideback. Lin also co-founded the Rideback TV Incubator with MRC, which provides financial and creative support to TV writers from varied backgrounds who want to create their own series for cable or streaming. Lin also established Rideback Ranch, a creative campus in Los Angeles' Historic Filipinotown districts. Aside from Rideback, the Ranch is home to industry titans such as David Ayer's Cedar Park Entertainment, Margot Robbie's LuckyChap Entertainment, Janelle Monae's Wondaland, Korean production house Bound, Warner Animation Group, and animation studio Animal Logic.
Lin previously worked for Warner Bros. Pictures as Senior Vice President of Production. He managed the creation and production of significant feature projects such as Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning thriller The Departed during his eight-year career at the studio from 1999 to 2007. Lin is on the boards of various non-profit organizations, including Evolve Entertainment Fund, Good Shepherd Center for Homeless Women and Children, and I Dream of Fish Foundation. He also serves on the National Board of Directors of the Producers Guild of America (PGA). Lin will receive the PGA's inaugural Vance Van Petten Entrepreneurial Spirit Award in 2022.
Walter Hamada - Paramount
7. Walter Hamada: Walter Hamada is a film executive and producer from the United States. He is the current Head of Horror for Paramount and the founder of the horror film studio 18hz Productions. Hamada's famous influence in the horror genre began in 2007 when he joined New Line Cinema as an executive producer on films like The Conjuring (2013), Annabelle (2014), The Conjuring 2 (2016), Lights Out (2016), and It (2017). Hamada was most-recently appointed President of Warner Bros. Pictures for DC-based film production (DC Films) before leaving the firm in October 2022.
Hamada began his career as an assistant at TriStar Pictures and rose through the ranks to become Vice President of Production at Columbia Pictures, where he oversaw projects such as The Big Hit, Godzilla (1998), and S.W.A.T. He was also in charge of development at MBST Entertainment. Hamada was a partner with H2F Entertainment for four years before leaving in 2007 to join New Line Cinema, a division of Warner Bros., where he worked as a production executive for a decade.
According to Hamada and his partners (Nathan Sandahl and Nick Romano), 18hz Productions derives its name from what is known as the "ghost frequency," which falls just below the range of human hearing (20hz and above). In November 2022, the company signed an exclusive, multiyear production deal with Paramount to spearhead the studios' mainstream horror movies. Hamada's 18hz Productions has made it their goal to release "several low-to-mid-budget films" per year across both theatrical and streaming.
Channing Dungey - Kevin Mazur
6. Channing Dungey: As Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group, Channing Dungey has creative responsibility for all of Warner Bros. television productions: production of scripted and unscripted series for streaming platforms, premium & cable channels, and broadcast networks. Thus, Dungey oversees Warner Bros. Television, the main production unit for live-action scripted programs, Warner Bros. Unscripted Television, divided into three divisions: Warner Horizon Unscripted Television, Telepictures, and Shed Media. These divisions produce more than a hundred series for both cable and streaming.
Dungey graduated magna cum laude in Theatre and Film from UCLA, after which she joined Walt Disney Television’s ABC Studios, where she stayed for almost fifteen years and became President of ABC Entertainment, overseeing shows such as The Good Doctor and American Idol. At ABC Studios, Dungey also developed and launched hits like Shonda Rhimes’ Private Practice and Criminal Minds. From 2019 to 2021 she worked for Netflix as Vice President of Original Series, during which she was pivotal in bringing on David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and concluding production deals with Mara Brock Akil, Gina Rodriguez, Bill Prady, and Regina King. In 2021, Dungey became Chairman of Warner Bros. Entertainment, from which she switched to Warner Bros. Television in 2022. During these years, she partnered with producer Pamela Post to create Dexterity Pictures, a production partnership that assists in the development of both films and series.
Dungey is on the Board of Governors of the Motion Picture & Television Fund, as well as a member of BAFTA, and of the West Coast Board of Directors for the Peabody Awards.
Donna Langley - Steve Granitz
5. Donna Langley: Donna Langley is Chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, where she oversees global strategy and operations. Her duties consist of managing the production, distribution, and marketing for film and television for Universal Pictures (both International and Home Entertainment), DreamWorks, Focus Features. Langley has been Chairman of Universal Pictures since 2013, during which she put together a strategic slate of films that resulted in four years of record profits and the two most financially successful years in all of Universal’s history. Through a series of successful partnerships with other production companies (Blumhouse Productions, Illumination, Monkeypaw Productions to name a few), she positioned Universal as a key content supplier of NBCUniversal. She started her career at New Line Cinema, where she eventually became Senior Vice President.
In her career, Langley actively contributed to the inclusivity efforts of Universal, launching the Global Talent Development and Inclusion group, thus making the company the first studio to have a department working on the progress of inclusion. Her social endeavors extend to being an Ambassador for Vital Voices Global Ambassador Program as well as serving on its Board of Directors. She is also one of the founders of The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Film mentorship program.
Langley is a member of the Board of Trustees for the American Film Institute, of the Motion Picture Association, and SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Entertainment Industry Council. In 2020, Langley was appointed as Dame Commander of the British Empire for her successes in the film industry and efforts in expanding opportunities to women and People Of Color in the industry and is the first British woman to run a major Hollywood studio.
Cathy Hughes - Paras Griffin
4. Cathy Hughes: Cathy Hughes is one of the most influential radio personalities today. In 1980, she purchased the Washington D.C. radio station WOL-AM and launched the company Radio One, broadcasting to a target African American audience. In 1993, Hughes’ son took over as CEO, while she became the Chair of the Board of Directors. Over the years, Radio One not only bought a number of radio stations in key geographical US markets, but also implemented a strong diversification strategy via the launch, acquisition, and investment in other complementary media companies, among which TV One, Reach Media, and Interactive One - all of which target different segments of the African American audience. It is precisely to reflect its multimedia reach that in 2017 Radio One, Inc. changed its name to Urban One, Inc.
One of Radio One’s most important strategic investments was TV One. Launched in 2004 as a joint venture with Comcast, in 2015 Radio One bought Comcast’s remaining shares. Among other notable investments, in 2008 Radio One launched Interactive One (“iOne”), an online portfolio of brands such as MadameNoire, HelloBeautiful, Global Grind, and NewsOne. Radio One is trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Cathy Hughes’ mission through Urban One is to pay homage to Black culture both by curating targeted talk shows and news programs, and by celebrating its excellency.
William wang - Vizio
3. William Wang: William Wang is the founder and CEO of Vizio and a Taiwanese American billionaire entrepreneur. Wang, as co-founder and CEO, has served as Chairman of the board of directors since December 2020 and as Chairman of the board of directors and Chief Executive Officer of California VIZIO Holding Corp. from its inception in 2002. Mr. Wang was also the Chief Technology Officer of California VIZIO Holding Corp. from 2002 until March 2010. Mr. Wang was the founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of PGS OEM, Inc., a computer monitor distributor, prior to forming VIZIO Holding Corp. Wang was chosen to serve on VIZIO's board of directors because of his unique perspective and experience as a founder and one of the company's top stakeholders, as well as his vast knowledge in the television manufacturing sector.
Gateway, Inc. enlisted Wang's assistance in developing a television strategy in 2001. Ted Waitt, Gateway's then-chairman, had been a customer of Wang's prior company, MAG, and had become a mentor to Wang. Wang's team assisted Gateway in developing its 42-inch plasma TV system, which was marketed at $2999 at a period when comparable systems cost upwards of $6000. Wang soon started his own television manufacturing company.
In 2002, he founded "V Inc." with Laynie Newsome, Ken Lowe, and a $600,000 investment. His concept was to combine low costs with great quality and exceptional customer service and to make this strategy profitable by running highly lean operations. When V Inc. was discovered to be difficult to say, he renamed the firm VIZIO Inc., after the name of their plasma TV. With a multibillion-dollar revenue, the firm is currently one of the leading sellers of LCD HDTVs in North America, with a business model based on television and hardware design, viewership data and advertising, and finally also adding a free streaming service called WatchFree, powered by Pluto TV, on its platform SmartCast.
Tyler Perry - Axelle - Bauer-Griffin
2. Tyler Perry: Tyler Perry is an African American playwright, actor, and filmmaker. Perry's films range in style from traditional filmmaking techniques to filmed stage plays. Many of his stage-play films have been converted into feature films. Perry, the creator of 24 feature films, 20 stage plays, 17 television shows, and two New York Times bestselling novels, has developed an empire that has drawn audiences and built communities from his home base in Atlanta, Georgia. Perry is hailed as one of the "greatest cinematic innovators" of our time, and his distinctive blend of spiritual hope and down-home comedy continues to define his remarkable life story, connecting with worldwide followers and always leaving room to dream.
Perry's career began in adversity, with a poor upbringing and an abusive home. Perry learned at a young age to record his daily thoughts and experiences in a series of soul-searching letters to himself, advice he received from Oprah Winfrey that helped establish his career. These letters inspired Perry to write his first play, I Know I've Been Changed, in 1992. Tyler had prepared for a packed house on the day of the play's premiere, but no one came. That same production sold out a local run six years later, forcing the troupe to relocate to Atlanta's legendary Fox Theatre. Over the next thirteen years, Tyler, a rookie to the theater, wrote thirteen plays, including Woman Thou Art Loosed! and I Can Do Bad All By Myself, the first appearance of the famous character Madea.
Perry's television career began in 2007 with the TBS series House of Payne, which became the highest-rated first-run syndicated cable show of all time after only a year in syndication. Meet the Browns, his follow-up, had the second-highest cable premiere ever. Perry collaborated with Oprah in late 2012 to bring scripted programming to her cable network, OWN, and created the half-hour sitcom Love Thy Neighbor and the hour-long soap opera The Haves and The Have Nots, both of which aired in 2013 and busted ratings records on the network. Perry's most recent TLC series and political drama, Too Close to Home, debuted in the fall of 2016. His achievements set the way for larger endeavors. As a result, in 2015, Perry established Tyler Perry Studios. The 330-acre studio lot is in the center of Atlanta on the grounds of the former Fort McPherson Army installation. With forty National Register of Historic Places structures, twelve purpose-built sound stages, 200 acres of green space, and a diversified backlot, Tyler Perry Studios has grown to become one of the country's largest motion picture studios, as well as a thriving TV studio, with nine series that are currently in production.
Byron Allen - Richard Chapin Downs Jr / Stringer
1. Byron Allen: Byron Allen is a giant in the entertainment industry. A TV producer and a comedian, he founded in 1993 his company CF Entertainment, later renamed Entertainment Studios in 2003. The company produced both scripted and unscripted programming for its first twenty years with the goal of first-run syndication: the shows were not produced for a specific network, but rather to be immediately broadcast as syndicated shows. The incredibly effective business model is based on bartering syndicated shows to stations not in exchange for a fee, but rather a share in revenues, thus targeting those smaller stations that would not have been able to afford to acquire shows directly from the syndication market.
Starting in 2015, Entertainment Studios made a series of acquisitions: a film distributor (Freestyle Releasing), TV channels (like the Weather Channel), and networks (TheGrio, which includes news, sports, and entertainment targeted to an African American audience). The company is now known as Allen Media Group, and it owns thirty-six network affiliate broadcast television stations serving 220 million subscribers, it produces and sells advertising for 73 TV programs, and through the division Allen Media Group Motion Pictures (formerly, Freestyle Releasing) it distributes films theatrically – the first African American owned film distributor to effectively do so. Its first film, 47 Meters Down (2017) took in $44 million at the box office against a production budget of just above $5 million. In 2018, Allen announced the establishment of a $500 million line of credit with Deutsche Bank and other credit institutions to fund large-scale acquisitions and productions. Allen’s latest interest is the potential acquisition of BET from Paramount Global.
When he was only a teenager, he was already a successful comedian: at 14, he became part of Jimmie Walker’s writing team alongside David Letterman and Jay Leno, and at 18 he performed a live stand-up show on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Carson. He then effectively switched from performing shows to owning them and founded Allen Media Group when he was 32 years old. Now, Byron Allen is one of the most respected and successful entertainment entrepreneurs.