Tara Duncan (media executive)

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Tara Duncan is an American executive in the entertainment industry. She is president of Onyx Collective, which focuses on content creators of color and underrepresented voices, [1] [2] and is known for her role in diversifying content. [3] [4] Duncan previously served as president of Freeform, Disney's cable network for Gen Z, from 2020–2023. [5] As of 2021, Duncan was one of only a few entertainment industry executives in the United States who is black. [6]

Contents

In 2023, Duncan was named a 2023 Black Women in Hollywood Honoree by Essence magazine. [7]

Early life and education

An avid television watcher since childhood, Duncan grew up in Inland Empire, two hours east of Los Angeles. [8] [1] She was a fan of My So-Called Life and General Hospital. [8] During her senior year in high school, Duncan had an internship at ABC Daytime, which she secured with help from Sarah Dorsey Rice of the Emma Bowen Foundation. [9] [8] She attended Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. [8]

Career

Duncan worked at production company Section Eight, founded by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh. [8] In 2005, she moved to New York City and worked for HBO, before moving to a role in production at AMC, which was in the early stages of building original series such as Breaking Bad. [8]

Duncan eventually left the cable industry to work with streaming services. [8] At Amazon Prime Video, she produced the pilot for Bosch, its first original drama series. [8]

In 2014, Duncan started working at Netflix as one of its first creative executives. [1] At Netflix, she oversaw the production of Orange Is the New Black and Narcos . [8] She left in 2018 to take a personal sabbatical and traveled the world for a year and a half. [4] [1]

In 2020, Duncan joined Disney General Entertainment as president of Freeform. [9] She launched Cruel Summer, [1] as well as Single Drunk Female , the cable network's two most-watched original series. [10] Freeform has also launched its first animated series, Praise Petey. [11] Keep This Between Us has had the network's highest unscripted debut. [11]

After launching the Onyx Collective for Disney in 2021, [12] Duncan oversaw the creation of its first title, Summer of Soul , produced by Questlove, which won the 2022 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. [1] Onyx has also added The Hair Tales, Unprisoned, and The Plot, [1] as well as the critically acclaimed Reasonable Doubt , produced by Kerry Washington. [10] In 2023, Onyx released The 1619 Project docuseries. [9]

Another project that Duncan has worked on for Hulu is The Other Black Girl , an adaptation of the 2021 novel by Zakiya Daila Harris, which Duncan executive produced. [13] Duncan also serves as an executive producer on Under the Bridge . [14]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Murphy, Chris (July–August 2022). "Voices CARRY". Vanity Fair. Vol. 64, no. 7. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  2. ↑ Jackson, Angelique (July 10, 2021). "Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson Celebrates 'Summer of Soul's' Box Office Buzz With DJ Set at the Greek Theatre". Variety. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  3. ↑ Tinubu, Aramide; Victorian, Brande (March–April 2022). "124 Black Women in Hollywood". Essence. Vol. 53, no. 2. Retrieved February 24, 2023– via EBSCOHost.
  4. 1 2 Perman, Stacy (January 27, 2023). "With '1619,' 'Summer of Soul' and 'The Plot,' Disney's diverse storytelling brand is making waves". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Tara Duncan – Disney General Entertainment Press" . Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  6. ↑ Giorgis, Hannah (October 2021). "The Unwritten Rules of Black TV". The Atlantic. Vol. 328, no. 3. Retrieved February 24, 2023– via EBSCOHost.
  7. ↑ Ruff, Rivea (February 21, 2023). "ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood to Honor Sheryl Lee Ralph, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Danielle Deadwyler, Tara Duncan, and Dominique Thorne". Essence . Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Umstead, R. Thomas (June 1, 2022). "Tara Duncan, President of Freeform & Onyx Collective, Disney Entertainment". Broadcasting & Cable – Multichannel News. Retrieved February 23, 2023– via EBSCOHost.
  9. 1 2 3 Victorian, Brande (February 23, 2023). "Tara Duncan: The Secret Is There Is No Secret". Essence . Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  10. 1 2 O'Connell, Mikey, ed. (December 7, 2022). "Power 100". Hollywood Reporter. Vol. 427, no. 37. Retrieved February 24, 2023– via EBSCOHost.
  11. 1 2 "Most Powerful Women 2022". CableFAX Magazine. December 2022. p. 54. Retrieved February 24, 2023– via EBSCOHost.
  12. ↑ White, Peter (May 17, 2021). "Disney Sets Onyx Collective, Content Brand For Creators Of Color On Hulu, Led By Freeform Boss Tara Duncan". Deadline. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  13. ↑ Otterson, Joe (August 4, 2022). "Hulu Orders Comedy Series 'The Other Black Girl' With Rashida Jones Producing". Variety . Archived from the original on August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  14. ↑ Bergeson, Samantha (March 25, 2024). "'Under the Bridge' Trailer: Lily Gladstone Investigates a Teen Gang Murder". IndieWire . Retrieved April 8, 2024.
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