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It’s been long in the works. But now the executive shuffling and pinkslipping may be finally coming down this week – as soon as Thursday? — as Steve McPherson consolidates his power as head of ABC Entertainment Group overseeing both ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios. Here’s what sources are telling me: Channing Dungey is leaving ABC Studios as SVP of drama development, to head drama at ABC Entertainment. 
She’ll replace Suzanne Patmore-Gibbs, who currently is EVP of drama development at ABC Entertainment and is being elevated to No 2 under Steve McPherson to oversee comedy and drama. Josh Barry, who’s VP of drama at the network under Patmore, will move to ABC Studios to run drama. Kevin Plunkett, who runs comedy at the studio, probably goes to the network to run comedy and replaces Samie Falvey, SVP of comedy development for ABC Entertainment. And Barry Jossen, who was elevated to No. 2 under Mark Pedowitz at ABC Studios (replacing Julia Franz) as EVP of creative, now becomes the head of ABC Studios. I’m also told to expect layoffs in business affairs, legal, casting, publicity, etc. Of course, given Steve McPherson’s unpredictable personality (some would call it bat-shit crazy), he may do all of this or none of this in the time frame I’ve been given. Have you seen the profanity-laced emails he sends out threatening people, followed by his emails asking the same people for a favor minutes later?
- When Will ABC Firings Come Down?
- ABC’s Steve McPherson Happy At Last
- What’s Really Going On At ABC Studios
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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I wonder if this means he’ll now actually read pilots before the week of production?
And maybe he’ll even read the action lines and not just the dialogue.
Be great if you could share some of those nutty emails, Nikki!
he worked at Witt Thomas Harris right out of college with me – he was a runner….but drove a Porsche – I guess it helped drop scripts off quicker. He had a nasty temper and was VERY cocky – nothing has changed….
One could wonder how Stephen McPherson keeps his job. I believe that he is just hours away from being stabbed in the back by Robert Iger. If he were to put this much energy into making a good product on the screen and promoting it as he does plotting the next consolidation, ABC would be “NUMBER ONE” right now.
All I can say is “In the Motherhood” Hardy har har!
can we see any of those emails? please please?
maybe ABC will stop relying on lost and g.anatomy now.
He was a piece of work at Witt Thomas, I remember that.
Amazing, how things never change…..
Good job, Steve. Keep kicking ass.
In all the years I worked at ABC I never once received an email from Steve filled with profanities. He is one of the best people I’ve ever worked with or for.
Most people are intimidated by him, because he literally is more creative and intelligent than most other people in the room.
Why would you consolidate the network and studio and still have parallel ranks of executives at each entity? Seems to defeat the purpose and keep the ranks cluttered with duplicative script readers and meddlers.
I’ve always been a big fan of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic!
Switching chairs on the Titanic much? ABC is listing horribly – watch as they slide off the precipice while underdog NBC shoots past them in the ratings this coming season. Mark my words…
You probably won’t print this because some people here clearly have it out for him, but the reality is that Steve McPherson is a stand-up guy with great taste who personally developed some of the biggest shows on tv, including those on other networks. As for a temper, even if he does have one, so what — at least he’s honest, which as we all know is more than can be said for almost every other exec out there. Plus, who else in this gutless two-faced town would publicly stand up for a friend like he did after that embarassing mess at NBC? I wish Steve McPherson all the best and clearly, so do senior execs at Disney.
I’m ok with this, there certainly needs to be some change over there.. Any chance that Brian Frons will be ousted from his throne at ABC Daytime? That man has trashed the network’s daytime drama lineup so badly over the past five years and ratings have slid so bad, I can’t imagine how he still has a job. I could see how he could say “we need to add more guns and explosions” five years ago but it’s clearly failed… don’t lesser failures result in getting fired? It’s really ridiculous!
Nikki, you can just tease us with “have you seen these emails…” Give ‘em up! Hide the names, but give us the goods!
Steve can shuffle people as much as he wants, as long as he keeps running his network this way — i.e. with his underlings terrified of him, throwing out pilots that have been worked on for months leaving pilots that get thrown together in days “for Steve,” — it’s just a matter of time before he’s shuffled out as well.
Steve was a runner at Witt-Thomas and then he worked for me in development (he never drove a Porsche, btw). In 1998 he replaced me as EVP at Touchstone/Walt Disney TV and has been there ever since. He is a smart guy who has managed to thrive in a difficult environment. Is he a hard ass? Yes. Does he swear like a Marine Corps drill instructor? Yes, as do I. So, what is you point Nikki? That high level entertainment execs swear and rip their employees when shit goes bad? Wow, there’s a revelation. I’m not sure what everyone here is bitching about, but no one posting on this board would last five minutes in that Burbank snake pit, never mind the 11 years that Steve has.
Profanity in Hollywood?!? Shock! Horros! Never HEARD of such a thing!!! Somewhere, somehow, Harvey Weinstein is laughing his ass off…
Glad Channing’s coming to the network. She has been a writers and creatives friend over at Touchstone, esp compared to the network overnoters. The ABC development department has suffered from a smugness it hasn’t earned, given that it hasn’t had a home run (or even a triple) since the Susan Lyne trio of Desperate, Lost, and Greys. I hope Stevo also keeps the drama current team. The best current department at any of the networks, mature and collaborative.
This is a ridiculous non-story. Shake up? Moving the same chess pieces around the same board is a shake up? If Steve really felt the need to invigorate ABC’s efforts he should make the hard choice to clean house and bring new people and new ideas into the fold. Otherwise Nikki, I might suggest you stop lending credence to stories that probably have nothing to do with what what they purport to be and everything to do with keeping ABC and SM front and center on a slow news day.
Gee, Pete, what a balls thing to do, heaping tons of suck-up praise on the President of Network and then having the “courage” to actually sign your name to it. Of course, you couldn’t possibly be angling to revive your pathetic career with ABC… I’m applauding your unselfish bravery here. What a load.
… but no one posting on this board would last five minutes in that Burbank snake pit, never mind the 11 years that Steve has.
What you don’t get Pete is that old thing called principle and integrity. We reward people for being assholes and call it strength. Whether you push a skinny in a locker or curs him out at a Monday meeting, it’s still called being an fucking douchebag and a bully.
BTW try 15 years and I didn’t have to be an asshole to do it.
so then who was the cocky p.a. at witt thomas that drove a porsche?
“Does he swear like a Marine Corps drill instructor? Yes, as do I. So, what is you [sic] point Nikki?”
Being a Navy Vet and Instructor, I can make a Marine Corps Drill Instructor cry.
Swearing like a Marine Corp drill instructor (btw, which doesn’t happen in today’s Corp) when you’re: 1) Not a DI, and; 2) In the civilian sector, just shows your ignorance and how really weak you are as a person.
Some call it a ‘right of passage’ to abuse others in their subordinate — because THEY were abused, too.
Still shows their ignorance and how really weak you are as a person.
I know it goes on all the time. I see so many weak and ignorant people in this industry however, a minority.
Last time I saw this happened I said to the offender, on a set, “Have you been in the military? Are you a Navy Drill Instructor? If you ever exhibit that conduct again – whether in my presence or not – I will show you what a Navy Vet sounds like. Then fire you.
Toodles.
I am,
The Hollywood Republican
I’ve known Josh Barry since he was Paris Barclay’s assistant. If this promotion comes to pass, it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy — a class act in a business populated by cowards.
T.E. Russell