Channing Dungey finds the Hollywood stories worth fighting for

Channing Dungey is one of USA TODAY’s 2026 Women of the Year, a recognition of women who have made a significant impact in their communities and beyond. Meet this year's honorees here. 

Channing Dungey loves stories. It started with books ‒ she was reading at age 2 ‒ and blossomed thanks to Saturday nights with her mom.  

“I grew up with a mom who loved old movies,” she says. Channing, her mom, Judith, and her little sister, Merrin, would gather around the TV on weekends. They’d put M&Ms in a blue bowl and cuddle up in front of “Roman Holiday” or “Sabrina.” “It was that thing we would do together,” Dungey says.  

The family would go to the multiplex, too. Sometimes they’d divide and conquer, like the time her mom took Merrin to an animated film, while Channing and her dad, Don, went to “Blade Runner,” her first R-rated movie.  When she was old enough to go on her own, she’d catch films like “The Outsiders,” which she saw three times in one afternoon.  

Despite their affinity for movies, her parents limited TV time for the two girls, so Channing and Merrin used their allotted hours wisely. “We’d get the fall TV guide and circle the shows,” she says. “We’d plan out our viewing for the week.” 

Still, that was entertainment, not a career path. She was a girl from Sacramento, California, and she didn’t know anyone from Hollywood.  

But in the back of her mind, in her heart, there was something Dungey did know: How stories made her feel ‒ and how they brought people together. 

That instinct would guide her through one of the most influential careers in modern television. Today, 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 through her career, she has reshaped modern television by expanding who gets to tell stories – and which stories get told.  

Believing in stories ‒ and the storytellers

Before she got her start, she had to sell her parents on the idea. When she went to the University of California, Los Angeles, the plan was to take the steady road to law school. But taking some film and TV electives, she got the bug. She told her mom and dad that everyone who applied to law school was a history or policy major. A film and television major would help her stand out, increasing her odds of getting accepted. She never applied to law school. 

Soon she was a production assistant at Warner Bros. The soundstages, the energy, the vibrancy of things being created ‒ there was no going back. “When you first drive on the lot and you're coming in under that water tower," Dungey, 56, says, “the whole thing feels incredibly magical.” 

She stayed in film development for more than a decade, contributing to movies like “Bridges of Madison County” and “The Matrix.” In 2004, she made the leap to TV ‒ the biggest risk of her career, she says. 

The gamble paid off. Name one of your favorite shows and chances are Dungey helped bring it to the screen. During a 15-year tenure at ABC, where she was the first Black executive to run a major network, she championed “How to Get Away With Murder” and “Scandal.” Then, as vice president of Original Series at Netflix, she was instrumental in everything from “Bridgerton” to “Inventing Anna,” and helped bring “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to the streamer. 

In the past five years, while back at her alma mater ‒ she’s the first woman and first Black executive to lead Warner Bros. Television Group and US Networks ‒ Dungey has been the one to shepherd “Abbott Elementary,” “Ted Lasso” and “The Pitt." In 2025, Warner Bros. had more than 80 shows in production for 20 different platforms and had a whopping 60 Emmy nominations, the most of any studio.

Despite such a track record, Dungey is candid that she doesn’t always know when she has a hit. “There's the alchemy of how this all comes together,” she says.  

There are the people in front of and behind the camera, the timing, the marketing, the audience. Some projects are derailed by things vastly beyond anyone’s control, like the pandemic or two industry strikes ‒ headwinds she navigated when she started at WBD. “If it was easy, then everyone could just pick the hits.” 

But 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 that showrunner and their voice and vision,” she says. “One of the things I say to people when they come in is, what is the idea that keeps you up at night, the thing that you're so excited about that you can't sleep? Because then you know you're on to something great. You can feel it.”  

After that winning pitch, Dungey’s work really begins. “I look at my job as being holding up the umbrella over my team so that they can be underneath, focusing on the work,” she says. And when necessary, fighting for projects she has faith in.  

“It’s always about your gut,” she says, “and a strong belief that a story must be told." That happened after season 1 of “Scandal,” and some waivered on the Kerry Washington-led drama. Dungey championed it hard and the show became a hit, running seven seasons.  

It happened again when “Ted Lasso” was shopped around town, and only one buyer, Apple, said yes. Dungey believed anyway.  

She keeps that umbrella shield up through production. “One of the things I tell showrunners is that it's very important that you hold on to your true north,” she says. “People are signing on because of your voice and your vision.” Her job, she says, is to help them avoid the noise. 

That's show business

Right now, there is a lot of noise. Netflix made a bid to buy Warner Bros., but the streamer walked away on Feb. 26 after Paramount made a hostile bid and a final, higher, all-cash offer for the company. The new deal still needs to be approved by the Warner Bros. board and faces regulatory hurdles, but if it goes through, it will be one of the largest entertainment deals in history. 

The outcome could, of course, lead to changes for Dungey ‒ possibly even elevating her to an even more senior role in the company. When asked about the prospects, she professionally demurs. “This feels like what I was born to do,” she says of her current job. “I love when I'm standing in line at the grocery store and I hear people in front of me talking about characters from television, like they know them, like they're friends. That kind of engagement only really happens in TV.”  

She understands the fight over the company. “One of the reasons people are interested in acquiring Warner Bros. is because of the shows we make and the movies we make, and the IP that we have. That all comes from telling the best stories and making this the best creative home for talent,” she says. “Whatever happens, we're going to be in a good place as long as we continue to tell great stories. That's the No. 1 job.” 

Building a legacy

On a February day, Dungey walks between the storied buildings of the Warner Bros. lot, through the bright sunshine and into the carefully staged waiting room of “The Pitt.” Janelle James shouts hello, and guests on a tour trolley gawk at the building where “Friends” was filmed. Dungey is both at home and excited to be there. The sense of magic hasn’t disappeared, even if the stakes have grown. 

Early next year, the studio will release the highly anticipated live-action “Harry Potter” series. And Dungey is looking forward to “Stillwater,” created by Greg Berlanti, which just sold to Amazon.  

As much as Hollywood is changing, bracing against the threats of artificial intelligence and fractured attention spans, Dungey seems calm and balanced. She gets advice and counsel from her sister Merrin, who is always happier in front of the camera (her credits include “The King of Queens,” “Alias” and “Once Upon a Time”) while she prefers to be behind the scenes.  

Dungey has learned over the years that work-life balance is elusive; what matters is if she can be present. Focused at work when she’s at work, off her phone when she’s at home. “It's not a perfect science. Sometimes things bleed over,” she says. “You just try to be intentional.” 

Nowadays, she reads dozens of scripts on her iPad rather than dog-earing paper scripts. Her husband, Scott Power, is a voracious TV viewer, she says, sometimes several series ahead of her, but they’ll watch comedy specials together. Her son, 9, loves anime, which she admits she’s had to study up on.  

Her daughter, 13, could follow her footsteps, or become an actress like her aunt ‒ she's a musical theater lover already. Dungey makes no predictions. They get out the candy and snacks and watch TV together. They’ve gone through all of “Gilmore Girls” twice. Next up might be “Glee.”  

And again, a mother and a daughter will be connected through a story, played out on the screen, inviting them to dream.  

Wendy Naugle is USA TODAY's Executive Editor of Entertainment. Follow her on Instagram @wendy_naugle.