Brianna Bennett leaves ViacomCBS for ABC Entertainment

Brianna Bennett leaves ViacomCBS for ABC Entertainment 

Former ViacomCBS executive Brianna Bennett  has been named senior vice president of network drama for ABC Entertainment.

Bennett comes to ABC from CBS Studios, where she spent seven years as vice president of drama development since 2014. She takes over heading up drama for the broadcaster from Brian Morewitz, whose exit was announced back in July. In her new role, Bennett will report to Simran Sethi, executive vice president of development and content strategy for ABC Entertainment. She 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.

During her time with ViacomCBS, Bennett was involved in 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 and The Lost Symbol for Peacock, among others.

Before that she worked at Fox where she helped develop series including Sleepy Hollow, The Following, Almost Human, Gang Related, Red Band Society and Empire.

“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,” said Bennett. “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.”

“Brianna is an amazing creative executive whose intellect, instinct and passion will drive our drama development forward as we continue to prioritise, nurture and sustain culturally inclusive and impactful storytelling,” said Simran Sethi, executive VP for development and content Strategy at ABC Entertainment.

“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.”

“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,” Sethi said. “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.”