Jamila Hunter Joins Freeform As Senior Vice President, Current Series and Alternative Programming

Veteran television executive Jamila Hunter has been named senior vice president of Current Series and Alternative Programming, Freeform, it was announced today by Lauren Corrao, executive vice president of Original Programming and Development, Freeform, to whom she will report. In her new role, Hunter will oversee unscripted and alternative content as well as scripted programming across the network's current slate of shows. Hunter is expected to start at the top of the new year.

"I have worked with Jamila many times as both a producer and an executive, and even tried to hire her once. Although it took nearly ten years, I feel incredibly fortunate that the time is now and that she chose to join me here alongside the talented team at Freeform," said Corrao. "Her impeccable taste, wicked sense of humor and tremendous relationships throughout the talent community undoubtedly make her the perfect choice to lead our Current and Alternative Programming teams as we continue to grow the FreeForm brand."

Hunter added, "Creating rich characters that resonate with an audience is a true passion of mine, so I'm thrilled to be joining a network that values bold, distinctive and inclusive storytelling. I have tremendous respect for Lauren's track record as an executive and producer, so the fact that I'm returning to the Disney family and joining her team as they continue to establish FreeForm as the cultural leader in young adult programming is truly icing on the cake."

Kary McHoul will step down as senior vice president of Unscripted and Current Series Programming and transition into an executive producer role for Freeform, overseeing the unscripted series "Wrap Battle," which is slated to premiere Nov. 25th on the network, as well as "Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings," which will launch on Disney+ next year. McHoul was instrumental in creating both series for the network. Said Corrao, "Kary has been pivotal in shaping our first major push into unscripted and we are so grateful for her significant contributions to our slate. While we are sad that she has chosen to move on, we are thankful to be able to continue to work with her in a producing capacity. Kary's passion, spirit and creativity has guided so much of our work at FreeForm and that will continue to echo through the halls."

Previously, Hunter was president of Khalabo Ink Society, Kenya Barris' Netflix-based production company. Before her time at Khalabo Ink Society, she served as senior vice president, Comedy, ABC Entertainment. In this role she was responsible for managing the comedy department and overseeing the development and production of all new network sitcoms, including the highly rated reboot of "Roseanne," "The Conners" and romantic comedy "Splitting Up Together." Before stepping into this position, Hunter was vice president, Comedy at ABC Entertainment for five years where she worked on projects ranging from the Emmy®-nominated and Peabody Award-winning series "black-ish" to audience favorites "Fresh Off the Boat" and "The Real O'Neals." Prior to her roles at ABC, Hunter was a key member of the creative team that launched OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, senior vice president of Alternative and Digital Programming at NBC Entertainment and vice president, Comedy Development, at 20th Century FOX Television. She served as vice president, Development and Production, at Bravo shortly after it was acquired by NBC. Hunter was an integral part of the creative team that rebranded the channel and launched seminal shows such as "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "Project Runway." Hunter also served as vice president, Alternative Programming for NBC Entertainment before her post at Bravo. She was the second executive to join the-at the time-nascent alternative department and was responsible for supervising all aspects of development, production and post-production for alternative programming.

A native of San Diego, Hunter holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. She currently resides in Toluca Lake, California.

Photo credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

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