*It happened. …Just days after Universal Television’s president Bela Bajaria blindsided everyone by stepping down, NBC Entertainment’s exec VP of drama development Pearlena Igbokwe has officially been named her replacement.
Igbokwe, who was immediately rumored to take over the position, will report to NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Her duties begin immediately.
“Pearlena’s remarkable track record in drama programming at NBC over the last few years made it clear that she was the ideal choice to lead the studio into its next phase of growth,” Salke said. “Her leadership, vision and taste have resulted in an impressive string of drama successes — from The Blacklist, Blindspot, Chicago Med, Shades of Blue and the upcoming series This Is Us, Timeless and Taken — that coincides with our return to a top position among networks. Pearlena also comes to the job with a wealth of experience in television movies and comedy and we have no doubt she will lead our prolific studio forward in a dynamic way.”
Igbokwe joined NBC in 2012 following a 20-year tenure at Showtime where she worked under NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt during his run at the cable channel.
At Showtime, Igbokwe developed “Dexter,” “Masters of Sex” and supervised series including “Nurse Jackie” and “The Big C.”
