ABC shakeup: Entertainment president Channing Dungey is leaving

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https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/li...sident-1162211

Dungey, who became the first black female to lead a broadcast network in February 2016 but is most famous for firing Roseanne Barr earlier this year, is exiting her job amid an influx of Fox executives from the Disney-Fox merger. Dungey will be replaced by Freeform head of original Karey Burke. Dungey has been working for ABC Studios and ABC Entertainment for 14 years. Dungey became ABC Entertainment president after developing hits like Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder as ABC's head of drama development. As The New York Times points out, "ABC has also struggled mightily in the ratings during Ms. Dungey’s tenure as the network’s entertainment president ... is once again in last place among the broadcast networks." As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Dungey "leaves ABC in better standing than when she took the reins, care of added hits including The Good Doctor. Still, the last few months haven’t exactly been great for the network. The Barr-free follow-up to Roseanne, The Conners, is pulling a fraction of the original series’ ratings, and after the seismic blow of (Shonda) Rhimes leaving ABC Studios for Netflix in 2017, fellow network darling (Kenya) Barris followed suit in the summer. Both showrunners maintain affection for and close ties to Dungey." Burke has overseen breakout shows at Freeform including The Bold Type, Grown-ish and Marvel's Cloak and Dagger. "I’m incredibly proud of what the team and I have accomplished over the years, and all the meaningful and impactful programming we’ve developed," Dungey said in a statement. "This job has been the highlight of my career. While I’ve loved every moment, and knew I could call ABC home for many years to come, I’m excited to tackle new challenges." As TVLine notes, "the move means that four of TV’s broadcast networks have replaced their top executives just in the past three months: NBC’s Robert Greenblatt stepped down in September, Fox named Charlie Collier to replace Gary Newman last month, and CBS’ Les Moonves was fired after a series of sexual harassment allegations."

[stevea]

She should have placed Barr in the penalty box until the storm blew over. The reruns are already back on TV Land and no one's squawking.

[tlc38tlc38]

Good riddance.

[Impressions]

Good riddance. I'm glad she's gone. She made a hasty decision to cancel the #1 show on her network, Roseanne, and the irony now is, she's being let go because her network is the lowest performing, ratings way.

It's disappointing the way she handled the whole Valerie Jarrett scandal. She didn't give a voice to Barr to air her views of what she meant, and instead silenced her into submission until she could give up the rights to her show, so the show could move on without her.

While I'm glad the show continues in the form of a spin-off, I feel like Roseanne could have continued into season 11. And by the looks of the current ratings, The Conners may be on thin ice, giving that the ratings are declining week-by-week and is only receiving a fraction of the ratings that Roseanne got.

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Channing Dungey's surprise exit generated a "shockwave" at ABC, but it was reportedly her decision to leave

Variety reports that the departing ABC Entertainment president was offered a new contract and encouraged to stay. “Everyone is devastated,” one insider told Variety. “There’s a reason Channing was so beloved and respected around town.”

[Too2muchtv]

Thank goodness, too bad it couldn't have been before she killed Roseanne.

[Lorimar Television]

Well The Conners is number 2 in the ratings so that can’t be the reason she left