Pearlena Igbokwe has been named the next president of Universal Television, reports Variety. The position was previously held by Bela Bajaria, who left the studio earlier this week. Igbokwe is currently NBC’s drama development chief; her successor has yet to be named. In her new post, Igbokwe will report to NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke.
“Pearlena’s remarkable track record in drama programming at NBC over the last few years made it clear that she was the ideal choice to lead the studio into its next phase of growth,” Salke said. “Her leadership, vision and taste have resulted in an impressive string of drama successes — from ‘The Blacklist,’ ‘Blindspot,’ ‘Chicago Med,’ ‘Shades of Blue,’ and the upcoming series ‘This Is Us,’ ‘Timeless,’ and ‘Taken’ — that coincides with our return to a top position among networks. Pearlena also comes to the job with a wealth of experience in television movies and comedy and we have no doubt she will lead our prolific studio forward in a dynamic way.”
Igbokwe spent two decades on Showtime, where she helped develop long-running hit series including “Nurse Jackie” and “Dexter.”
Back in February of this year Channing Dungey became the first African American to lead a major TV network when she was appointed entertainment president of Disney’s ABC television. Now, less than six months later, Igbokwe, another African-American woman, has been announced as president of Universal Television. It seems as though the tides are, at long last, turning in a very exciting direction.
