Following days of speculation, it was confirmed on Friday (July 29) that veteran executive and producer Corie Henson will be joining NBCUniversal’s television and streaming group as executive vice president, entertainment unscripted content, one month after her exit (along with many other senior personnel) from the recently merged Warner Bros. Discovery.
Reporting to Susan Rovner, chairman of entertainment content, Henson (pictured) will oversee reality competition, talent competition and game show formats for the network. Her purview will cover content development and current programming across the company’s eight entertainment platforms, which are home to such unscripted hits as America’s Got Talent and The Voice (NBC), Top Chef (Bravo), and Baking It (Peacock).
Henson steps into the role that was vacated by Jenny Groom, who stepped down earlier this week (July 26). Rod Aissa will continue to oversee the lifestyle and documentary component of NBCU’s unscripted portfolio.
In her previous role at Warner Bros. Discovery forerunner WarnerMedia, Henson served as EVP and head of unscripted for the TNets (TNT, TBS and TruTV), where she developed and implemented an unscripted strategy that yielded shows like Wipeout with John Cena, The Go Big Show, The Cube with Dwyane Wade, and Hogwart’s Tournament of Houses with Helen Mirren.
Prior to joining WarnerMeda in 2019, Henson was executive vice president of alternative entertainment for the Fox Broadcasting Company, where she shepherded development and oversaw such franchises as The Masked Singer, MasterChef, So You Think You Can Dance, Hell’s Kitchen and Beat Shazam with Jamie Foxx, as well as all live event specials.
Earlier in her career, Henson was executive vice president of unscripted television at Electus, following five years as vice president of alternative series for ABC Entertainment. Her other credits as a producer include Big Brother, Grease: You’re the One That I Want, On Air with Ryan Seacrest and The Critics’ Choice Awards, in addition to live red-carpet awards coverage while she was at E! Entertainment Television.
“Corie is one of the most respected executives in the business, and brings a resume overflowing with big unscripted hits that have broken out across broadcast, streaming and cable platforms,” said Rovner in a statement. “Her deep experience with large volumes of programming across multiple networks and brands is a perfect fit for our NBCU content ecosystem. She’s joining an incredible group of programming leaders working across genres, and we’re excited to welcome her to the team.”
