Veteran television executive Jamila Hunter has departed Freeform to take on the role of president of Macro Television Studios.
Macro founder and CEO Charles D. King on Thursday announced Hunter’s new role at the company, where she will oversee the television team and the slate of projects in development and production.
“I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Jamila to the company,” King said in a statement. “She is one of the most stellar and accomplished executives in television and I look forward to adding her wealth of knowledge, leadership skills and extensive experience to the company to propel Macro Television Studios to the next level.”
Hunter joins Macro from Freeform, where she served as executive VP of original programming and development. Under her leadership, Freeform launched “Cruel Summer,” which is executive produced by Jessica Biel and ranks among the network’s most-watched programs ever. Additionally, Hunter’s team developed “Single Drunk Female,” the Emmy-nominated series “Grown-ish” and GLAAD-nominated “Good Trouble.”
“I’ve admired Macro since Charles founded the company. The mission statement and brand perfectly align with the stories that I am compelled to tell,” said Hunter. “I am looking forward to collaborating with the Macro Television Studios team to continue producing timeless stories for a broad audience.”
Hunter’s resume also includes a term as president of Khalabo Ink Society, Kenya Barris’ Netflix-based production company, as well as a lengthy tenure at ABC Entertainment, where she rose through the ranks to become senior VP of comedy. In this role, she was responsible for managing the comedy department and overseeing the development and production of all new network sitcoms, including the first season of “The Conners.” As VP of comedy at ABC, Hunter worked on projects including “Black-ish,” “Fresh Off the Boat” and “The Real O’Neals.”
Prior to her time at ABC, Hunter was head of programming at OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network; senior VP of alternative and digital programming at NBC Entertainment; and VP of comedy development at 20th Century Fox Television. She also served as vice president of development and production at Bravo, shortly after it was acquired by NBC, working as part of the team that rebranded the channel and launched shows including “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” and “Project Runway.”