ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT SHOWRUNNERS


PAM VEASEY Pam Veasey, who hails from Washington State, simultaneously ran CSI: NY, for which Hill Harper has won several Image Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series, and the CW drama Ringer as an executive producer. She broke into the industry while working as a receptionist on the sitcom Gimmie A Break during the ‘80s. After submitting a spec script to the show’s producers, Veasey was relieved from answering phones and hired as a writer on the show. Described by her friends and colleagues as a “quiet storm,” she has blazed a trail in Hollywood, landing her among some of the industry’s most powerful showrunners. Veasey’s work is diverse and spans decades. Her credits also include The District, In Living Color and Martial Law.


SHONDA RHIMES Illinois native Shonda Rhimes declared she would one day rule the world through television. A decade later, she made good on her word when she made history by becoming the fi rst African-American woman to have three successful TV shows on one network. Her production company Shondaland is home to Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice and Scandal, three of ABC’s biggest hit series. How’s that for speaking things into existence? Rhimes, a graduate of Dartmouth College and the USC School of Cinema-


Television, initially found fi nancial success writing features. Her fi rst major break came when she co-wrote the HBO biopic Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, which garnered several awards, including an Image Award for leading lady Halle Berry. Rhimes penned Crossroads, the debut fi lm of pop singer Britney Spears, and was later tapped by friend and mentor producer Debra Martin-Chase, the fi rst African-American woman to have a solo producing deal at a major studio, to co-write the sequel to the popular movie The Princess Diaries. Currently, Rhimes is revolutionizing television programming with her


latest hit series Scandal, the political thriller starring multiple Image Award winner Kerry Washington. Washington portrays Olivia Pope, a professional fi xer inspired by real-life crisis management expert Judy Smith, who also happens to be a black woman. Rhimes’s commitment to authenticity has paid off brilliantly; the megahit is the latest illustration of Rhimes’s talent for creating appointment television for millions. Lastly, writer extraordinaire Shonda Rhimes has quite a collection of Image


Award statues, as well as countless other accolades and honors that support the fact that she is a Hollywood darling. This year, Rhimes is up for several 44th NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series, and deservedly so. We can’t wait to tune in and see what’s next for Shonda Rhimes as well as the other brilliant, immensely talented African-American female showrunners. Whoever said, “the writer is king in television” had no idea that one day the scribe might actually be a queen.


OTHER NOTABLE AFRICAN-AMERICAN FEMALE POWER PLAYERS


1. Eunetta T. Boone, creator, executive producer, One on One and Cuts


2. Zoanne Clack, MD, co-executive producer and medical advisor, Grey’s Anatomy


3. Jacque Edmonds Cofer, creator and executive 18 producer, Let’s Stay Together


4. Sara Finney-Johnson, creator and executive producer, Moesha and The Parkers


5. Kellie R. Griffi n, creator and co-executive producer, Reed Between the Lines


6. Felicia D. Henderson, executive producer, Soul Food


7. Winifred Hervey, creator, The Steve Harvey


PAM VEASEY


SHONDA RHIMES


Show, and executive producer, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and In the House


8. Stacy A. Littlejohn, creator and executive producer, Single Ladies


9. Doreen Spicer, creator and executive producer, The Wannabes


10. Vida Spears, creator and executive producer, Moesha and The Parkers


Watch the 44th NAACP IMAGE AWARDS Friday, February 1, at 8/7C on NBC


ROBERT VOETS/CBS


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