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ABC Hires ViacomCBS Exec Brianna Bennett as Head of Drama

Former ViacomCBS drama-development executive Brianna Bennett has been named ABC Entertainment’s new senior vice president of network drama, the Disney-owned broadcaster said Monday. She is taking over the role from former drama head Brian Morewitz, whose exit from ABC after 17 years with the company was announced over the summer.

In her new position, Bennett will lead the drama series development team and oversee the department’s day-to-day operations, including creatively supervising production of new drama pilots for ABC, per the broadcast network.

“Brianna is an amazing creative executive whose intellect, instinct and passion will drive our drama development forward as we continue to prioritize, nurture and sustain culturally inclusive and impactful storytelling,” Simran Sethi, executive vice president of development and content strategy at ABC Entertainment, said in a statement Monday. “Her depth of experience and love of broadcast television will serve ABC’s commitment to bold and groundbreaking content with a watchful eye toward intersectionality.”

“I’m looking forward to working with Simran and the entire team on developing the next great drama for ABC, a network that has long been defined by some of the most important and trailblazing shows of our time,” Bennett added. “This is an exhilarating time to be a creator and writer in entertainment, especially for new and up-and-coming voices – there’s no limit to the stories we can tell.”

Bennett most recently served as vice president of drama development at ViacomCBS, a title she held since 2014. In that role, she was actively involved with the development of “Evil” and “Seal Team” for CBS/Paramount+; “Clarice” and “NCIS: Hawai’i” for CBS; “Dynasty,” “Nancy Drew,” “In the Dark” and “Walker” for The CW; “Insatiable” for Netflix; “The Lost Symbol” for Peacock; and the upcoming “Good Sam” (CBS) and “4400” and “Tom Swift” (The CW), among others, per ABC’s bio for the exec.

Before her time at ViacomCBS, Bennett worked at Fox, where she helped develop “Sleepy Hollow,” “The Following,” “Gang Related,” “Almost Human,” “Red Band Society” and “Empire.”

Bennett attended film school at Ohio University and had her first gig in the entertainment business as a member of the television literary department at BWCS/ICM.