Paramount may have won the battle for her studio, but the head of Warner Bros. Television Group remained focused on what she says is most important: good storytelling.
Channing Dungey is one of USA TODAY’s 2026 Women of the Year, which recognizes women who have made a significant impact in and outside of their communities. Here are this year’s winners.
Channing Dungey loves stories. It started with a book she read when she was two years old and blossomed thanks to Saturday nights spent with her mother.
“I grew up with a mother who loved old movies,” she says. Channing, his mother Judith, and his sister Merrin would gather around the television on weekends. They put M&Ms in a blue bowl and snuggled up to “Roman Holiday” and “Sabrina.” “It was something we did together,” Dungey says.
My family also goes to multiplexes. Sometimes they divide and conquer, as when her mother took Merrin to an animated movie and Channing and his father, Don, went to see their first R-rated movie, Blade Runner. When she was old enough to be on her own, we watched movies like “The Outsider” three times in an afternoon.
“Keep going”: Channing Dungey’s advice to a new generation in Hollywood
Warner Bros. TV CEO Channing Dungey, known for creating hits from “Bridgerton” to “Abbott Elementary,” is one of USA TODAY’s Women of the Year.
Despite their love of movies, their parents limited the two girls’ television viewing time, so Channing and Merrin used their allotted time wisely. “We got the fall TV guide and went through the shows,” she says. “I’ll make a week’s viewing plan.”
Still, it was entertainment, not a career path. She was a girl from Sacramento, California, and she didn’t know anyone in Hollywood.
But in the back of her mind, in her heart, there was something Dungey knew. It was about how stories make her feel and how stories bring people together.
That instinct would lead her to one of the most influential careers in modern television. Currently, as Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group and WBD US Networks, Dungey oversees one of the industry’s most powerful and coveted content engines. And throughout her career, she has reshaped modern television by expanding who tells stories and what stories get told.
believe in the story and the narrator
Before starting, she had to convince her parents of the idea. When she went to the University of California, Los Angeles, the plan was to take a steady path to law school. But after taking a few film and television electives, she realized the problem. She told her mother and father that everyone who applied to law school majored in history or policy. Majoring in film and television will help her stand out and increase her chances of acceptance. She never applied to law school.
Soon, she became a production assistant at Warner Brothers. The soundstage, the energy, the vibrancy of what was being produced, there was no going back. “The first time you drive through the grounds and go under the water tower, everything feels incredibly magical,” said Dungey, 56.
She worked in film development for more than a decade, contributing to films such as “The Bridges of Madison County” and “The Matrix.” In 2004, she jumped into television, which she says was the biggest risk of her career.
The gamble paid off. What is one of your favorite shows? Dungey could help bring the show to the big screen. She championed “How to Get Away with Murder” and “Scandal” during her 15-year tenure at ABC, where she was the first black executive to run a major network. Then, as Netflix’s vice president of original series, she contributed to everything from “Bridgerton” to “The Invention of Anna,” and was instrumental in bringing “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and DB Weiss to the streamer.
For the past five years, Dungey has been the first woman and first black executive to lead Warner Bros. Television Group and US Network, greenlighting “Abbott Elementary,” “Ted Lasso” and “The Pit,” while returning to her alma mater. In 2025, Warner Bros. produced more than 80 shows across 20 different platforms and received a record 60 Emmy nominations.
Despite his track record, Dungey candidly says he never knows when he’ll have a hit. “There’s an alchemy to how all these things come together,” she says.
There are people in front of and behind the camera, there is timing, there is marketing, and there is an audience. Some projects are derailed by circumstances beyond anyone’s control, such as the pandemic and two industry strikes, but she was exposed to headwinds that she overcame when she joined WBD. “If it were easy, everyone would be able to pick a hit song.”
But even after 30 years in the business, she still finds projects that make the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. “It always starts with the showrunner and their voice and vision,” she says. “One of the things I say to people who come in is, what is the idea that keeps you up at night, what keeps you up at night? Because then you know you’re working on something great. You can feel it.”
After this winning pitch, Dungey’s work begins in earnest. “I see my job as holding an umbrella over my team so they can stay under the umbrella and focus on their work,” she says. And when necessary, she will fight for projects she believes in.
“It always comes down to my intuition and my strong belief that the story needs to be told,” she says. It happened after the first season of Scandal, and some people turned down the drama starring Kerry Washington. Dungey passionately defended it, and the show became a hit that lasted seven seasons.
The same thing happened again when “Ted Lasso” was shopped around town. And only one buyer said YES: Apple. Dungey believed it anyway.
She continues to hold that umbrella shield throughout the production. “One of the things I tell showrunners is that it’s really important to have your true north,” she says. “People buy in because of your voice and your vision,” she says, and her job is to help them cut through the noise.
that’s show business
There is currently a lot of noise. Netflix was interested in acquiring Warner Bros., but the streamer withdrew on February 26 after Paramount made a hostile bid and ultimately offered the company a much larger all-cash offer. The new deal still needs approval from Warner Bros.’ board of directors and faces regulatory hurdles, but if it goes through, it would be one of the largest entertainment deals in history.
Of course, the outcome could lead to changes for Dungey, perhaps even promoting her to a more senior role within the company. When asked about the outlook, she disagreed professionally. “I feel like this is what I was born to do,” she says of her current job. “I love being in line at the grocery store and hearing the people in front of me talk about the TV characters as if they know them, as if they’re friends. That kind of engagement only happens on TV.”
She understands the conflicts surrounding the company. “One of the reasons people are interested in acquiring Warner Bros. is because of the shows we make, the movies we make, and the intellectual property we have. It all comes from telling the best stories and making this the best creative hub for talent,” she says. “No matter what happens, as long as we continue to tell great stories, we’ll be in a good position. That’s our number one job.”
Building a legacy
One day in February, Dungey walked among the skyscrapers on the Warner Bros. campus into bright sunlight and into the carefully staged waiting room of “The Pit.” Janelle James greets guests on tour trolleys as they gaze at the building where “Friends” was filmed. Dungey feels right at home and is excited to be home. Even though the stakes have grown, the sense of magic hasn’t disappeared.
Early next year, the studio plans to release the long-awaited live-action Harry Potter series. And Dungey is looking forward to Greg Berlanti’s “Stillwater,” which just went on sale to Amazon.
While Hollywood is changing as it prepares for the threat of artificial intelligence and fractured attention spans, Dungey seems calm and balanced. She gets tips and advice from her sister Merrin, but while she always seems happy in front of the camera (her credits include ‘The King of Queens’, ‘Alias’ and ‘Once Upon a Time’), she prefers to stay behind the scenes.
Over the years, Dungey has learned that work-life balance can be elusive. What matters is whether she can be there. Focus on your work when you’re at work, and turn off your phone when you’re at home. “It’s not a perfect science. Sometimes things bleed over,” she says. “You’re just trying to be intentional.”
These days, instead of reading paper scripts, she reads dozens of scripts on her iPad. Her husband, Scott Power, is a voracious TV watcher and they often watch comedy specials together, although he is sometimes several series ahead of her. She admits that her 9-year-old son loves anime and had to learn about it.
Her 13-year-old daughter could follow in her footsteps or become an actress like her aunt. She is already a musical theater enthusiast. Dungey doesn’t make predictions. They take out candy or snacks and watch TV together. They went through all of “Gilmore Girls” twice. I think “Glee” is next.
Once again, a mother and daughter connect through a story unfolding on screen, inviting them to dream.
Wendy Naugle is USA TODAY’s entertainment editor. Follow her on Instagram @wendy_naugle.
