Pearlena Igbokwe

Last updated

Pearlena Igbokwe is the chairman of Universal Studio Group, [1] a division of NBCUniversal. She is responsible for all aspects of creative affairs and production for four studios: Universal Television, Universal Content Productions (UCP), NBCUniversal International Studios and Universal Television Alternative Studio.

Contents

She is the first woman of African descent to head a major U.S. television studio, as she comes from the Igbo tribe of Nigeria. [2]

Early life and education

Igbokwe was born in Lagos, Nigeria in the 1960s. She lived with her family in a village which was affected by bomber planes while they depended on airlifted food during the Nigerian Civil War. She moved to the United States at the age of six. [3] She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and an MBA from Columbia University. [4]

Career

From June 2016 to September 2020, Igbokwe was president of Universal Television [5] where she oversaw creative development, casting and production for one of the country's largest and most successful studios. She led the division to new heights with record volume, commercial success and critical acclaim. Some of her programming highlights include Russian Doll, The Good Place , New Amsterdam, The Bold Type , Good Girls, and Dick Wolf’s successful new franchise, FBI and FBI: Most Wanted , among numerous other notable projects. In a highly competitive landscape, Igbokwe was able to secure pickups for her projects on every major streaming service, a variety of premium cable outlets and every broadcast network.

Before her studio role, Igbokwe served as executive vice president, drama programming, [6] for NBC Entertainment, where she developed the top-rated new broadcast dramas for three out of her four years in the role (Blacklist, Blindspot and This Is Us ).

Igbokwe worked at Showtime for 20 years where she was involved in developing the pilot and overseeing the first five seasons of Dexter , Showtime's most popular series ever. She also developed the pilot for Masters of Sex , starring Michael Sheen, and supervised the Emmy Award-winning and critically acclaimed original series Nurse Jackie . In addition, she shepherded Tracey Ullman's State of the Union , Damon Wayans' The Underground, Kirstie Alley's Fat Actress and the television adaptation of the hit feature film Barbershop . She was also instrumental in the five-season run of the hit Showtime series Soul Food , a two-time NAACP Image Award winner for best drama series.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USA Network</span> American pay television channel

USA Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports cable television channels, before being relaunched under its current name on April 9, 1980. Since then, USA steadily gained popularity through its original programming, a long-established partnership with WWF/WWE and, for many years, limited sports programming that increased significantly in 2022 after the shutdown of NBCSN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Pictures</span> American film studio

Universal City Studios LLC or Universal Studios, doing business as Universal Pictures or simply Universal, is an American film production and distribution company owned by NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NBCUniversal</span> American media and entertainment conglomerate

NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation that is a division of Comcast and is headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan in New York City.

Universal Pictures Television LLC is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predecessor of the company previously assumed such functions, and a substantial portion of the company's shows air on the network. It was formerly known by various names, including Revue Studios, Universal Pictures Television Department, Universal-International Television, Studios USA Television LLC, Universal Studios Network Programming, Universal Network Television, Universal Domestic Television, NBC Universal Television Studio, and Universal Media Studios. Re-established in 2004, both NBC Studios and the original Universal Television are predecessors of the current Universal Television, formerly known as NBC Universal Television Studio and Universal Media Studios.

NBCUniversal Media Group is the television and streaming arm of NBCUniversal, and the direct descendant and successor of the former division NBCUniversal Television Group, which existed from 2004 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imagine Entertainment</span> American film and television production company

Imagine Entertainment, also known simply as Imagine, is an American film and television production company founded in November 1985 by producer Brian Grazer and director Ron Howard.

NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, formerly known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution, Universal Domestic Television, Studios USA Television Distribution and MCA TV, is the television syndication division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, in the United States. Its predecessors include NBC Enterprises, Universal Television Distribution, Multimedia Entertainment, PolyGram Television, and Sky Vision. At some point in its history, it was also known as "NBCUniversal Television & New Media Distribution" and "NBC Universal Television and New Media Distribution.” This unit is possibly the parent for the similarly named "NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution" unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonnie Hammer</span> American businesswoman and network executive

Bonnie Hammer is an American network and studio executive. As of 2020, her title is vice-chairman, NBCUniversal.

NBCUniversal International Networks & Direct-to-Consumer, formerly NBC Universal Global Networks, Universal Networks International and NBCUniversal International Networks, is a part of NBCUniversal, owned by Comcast.

Jeffrey Mark Gaspin is an American television executive and former Chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment. Gaspin resigned his position in late 2010, as a precursor to Comcast taking controlling ownership of the now newly rechristened NBCUniversal, which occurred on January 28, 2011. Robert Greenblatt, former President of Entertainment of Showtime Networks Inc., succeeded Gaspin. Gaspin founded Gaspin Media, a production and consulting company, in 2012, and co-founded TAPP TV, a subscription-based online TV network, in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Content Productions</span> American television production company

Universal Content Productions (UCP) is an American television production company operating within the Universal Studio Group division of NBCUniversal, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast.

Robert Greenblatt is an American television executive, former Chairman of NBC Entertainment and former Chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment. He has since launched his production company, The Green Room

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophie Watts</span> British-born entrepreneur, investor, and media executive

Sophie Watts is a British-born entrepreneur, investor and media executive. She is the founding President of the global movie and TV studio STX Entertainment, a co-founder of the global web3 agency Metacurio and a serial investor and global entrepreneur. Watts is notable for being the only female media executive in history to have built a Hollywood film studio from the ground up, which was valued at over US $2.5 billion at her departure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympic Channel</span> Website and app about Olympic sports

Olympic Channel is an over-the-top Internet television service operated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was launched on August 21, 2016, alongside the closing of the 2016 Summer Olympics. The service aims to maintain year-round interest in the Olympic movement, carrying documentaries and other programming chronicling the Olympic Games, as well as coverage of events in Olympic sport outside of the Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Kids</span> American childrens television channel

Universal Kids is an American children's television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of NBCUniversal, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast.

<i>FBI</i> (TV series) 2018 American crime drama television series

FBI is an American crime drama television series created by Dick Wolf and Craig Turk that airs on CBS, where it premiered on September 25, 2018. The series is produced by Wolf Entertainment, CBS Studios, and Universal Television, with Dick Wolf, Arthur W. Forney, Peter Jankowski, and Turk serving as executive producers.

<i>The Kelly Clarkson Show</i> American daytime talk show

The Kelly Clarkson Show is an American daytime television variety talk show hosted by American singer Kelly Clarkson. It is produced and distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and features Clarkson interviewing celebrities and segments about "everyday people". Clarkson opens the program with "Kellyoke", a musical performance of a cover version of various songs requested by a member of her audience and ends with her participating in an activity with her guests. "Kellyoke" classic was introduced in the third season, where Clarkson performs her own songs that were not released as singles.

Peacock is an American over-the-top video streaming service owned and operated by Peacock TV LLC, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. Named after the NBC logo, the service launched on July 15, 2020. The service primarily features series and film content from NBCUniversal studios and other third-party content providers, including television series, films, news, and sports programming. The service is available in a grandfathered free ad-supported version with limited content, while premium tiers include a larger content library and access to additional NBC Sports, Hallmark Channel, and WWE content.

References

  1. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2020-09-09). "Pearlena Igbokwe Promoted To Lead NBCU's Global TV Studio Operation, Bonnie Hammer Named Vice Chairman". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  2. ↑ David, Adetula (2016-06-06). "Meet Pearlena Igbokwe, the first Nigerian woman to head a major US television network". Ventures Africa. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  3. ↑ "Pealena Igbokwe". Ladybrille. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  4. ↑ Max Ndianafo (August 13, 2016). "20 Facts on US based Pearlena Igbokwe as she records a 1st in US TV Network". CP Africa.
  5. ↑ "Pearlena Igbokwe Named President of Universal Television". Variety. 2016-06-03. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  6. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (2012-07-10). "NBC Names Pearlena Igbokwe New Drama Head". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.