Erika Kennair
Erika Kennair
Erika Kennair is currently Head of Scripted, US and Canada at The Mediapro Studio. She was recently the President of Production for Extracurricular, working with Malala Yousafzai to provide scripted and unscripted film and television content in an exclusive overall deal with AppleTV+. Their film, Joyland, won an Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film, and Stranger at the Gate was nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Documentary.
Prior to Extracurricular, Erika was Senior Vice President, Development, at Berlanti Productions, overseeing the procurement and development of new scripted and unscripted series for both network and cable/streaming. She produced Emmy, Golden Globe, Critics Choice, PGA, DGA and SAG nominated, The Flight Attendant for HBO Max (Which she was nominated for a PGA Award and an Emmy for), You for Netflix, docu-series Helter Skelter for Epix, Prodigal Son for FOX and Incarnate for Netflix.
As Vice President, Comedy Development, ABC Entertainment Group, Erika was responsible for identifying and developing comedy series for ABC Network. She oversaw creative for American Housewife, Splitting Up Together, Roseanne, and The Connors. Erika was also very active in the international comedy space, eyeing formats, attending festivals, and establishing relationships with key comedy talent around the world.
Prior to joining ABC, Ms. Kennair was Vice President, Original Programming and Development, Syfy, since July 2010. She was responsible for developing new original programming and talent for Syfy and shepherded the series The Magicians, 12 Monkeys, and Killjoys. Kennair joined Syfy in 2008 as director of Development, overseeing all creative aspects of original series, including Helix, Dominion, Defiance, Stargate: Universe, and the Syfy mini-series, Alice and Neverland. She also served as creative point on WWE Friday Night Smackdown! and was made an honorary “Diva.”
Previously Ms. Kennair was manager, Entertainment Diversity Programs, NBC Entertainment, since 2006. She was responsible for identifying diverse writing talent and created and oversaw the network’s competitive writing program, Writers on the Verge, an initiative aimed at developing and marketing new writers for placement on NBC series.
A Cuban-American, Ms. Kennair was voted one of the Most Influential and Powerful Latinos in Media by the Imagen Foundation four times. In 2013, she was named one of Hollywood Reporter’s Top Young Latino Decision Makers. In 2012, she was named to Multichannel News’s 40 under Forty, Variety’s New Leaders, CableFAX’s Most Influential Minorities in Cable, and was honored as a NAMIC Luminary.