Karey Burke

Karey Burke is president of 20th Television, the powerhouse studio behind a diverse slate of award-winning and critically acclaimed programming, serving as a content engine within the Disney ecosystem, including series currently in production for ABC, Disney+, FX, Hulu and Onyx Collective, in addition to outside platforms.

Since becoming president of 20th Television in December 2020, the studio has produced the breakout hits “Percy Jackson and The Olympians” for Disney+; ABC’s Golden Globe®, SAG, AFI and Emmy® Award-winning comedy “Abbott Elementary”; Hulu’s most-watched original comedy in its history, the Emmy-winning “Only Murders in the Building”; new hit ABC series “High Potential,” “Doctor Odyssey,” “Shifting Gears” – which set the network’s multiplatform audience record as the most-watched streaming debut to date – and “Will Trent”; the out-of-the-gate drama hit “Paradise” for Hulu; “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans,” “Grotesquerie,” and the ongoing anthology series “American Horror Story” and “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez” for FX; the poignant and historic limited series “We Were The Lucky Ones” and “Genius: MLK/X” for Nat Geo; “The Last Thing He Told Me,” which ranked as the No.1 limited series on Apple TV; CBS’ hit drama “Tracker,” the No. 1 series on network television; and the year’s most-talked-about new romcom series “Nobody Wants This.”

The studio’s roster also includes network hit drama “9-1-1”and its spinoff, “9-1-1: Lone Sta,”; Golden Globe-winning “Grey’s Anatomy,” currently in production on season 21; “Criminal Minds: Evolution” in season 17 for Paramount TV+; “The Godfather of Harlem” for MGM+; “The Old Man”; the Emmy-nominated limited series “The Dropout”; “Dopesick”; “Impeachment: American Crime Story”; NBC’s multi-award-winning legacy series “This Is Us”; “The Santa Clauses” and the historic “American Born Chinese” for Disney+.

Upcoming tentpoles include “Dying For Sex” for FX; “Mid-Century Modern,” the “Untitled Amanda Knox” limited series and “Chad Powers” for Hulu; new drama series “All’s Fair” and “The Beauty” for Hulu; the limited revival installment of “Malcom in the Middle” for Disney+; and “The Beast in Me” for Netflix.

As a champion of a more inclusive and collaborative creative environment, Burke was a driving force behind the launch of Walt Disney Television’s Executive Incubator Program, aimed at establishing a pipeline of next-generation executives with a deliberate focus on developing underrepresented talent. At 20th Television, Burke established the studio’s TAG (Twentieth Action Group), organizing meaningful events for employees to amplify the studio’s commitment to inclusion internally and externally with partner organizations.

Burke previously served as president of ABC Entertainment from December 2018 through November 2020, where she developed some of the most critically acclaimed and widely viewed live television events, including two Emmy Award-winning “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” specials as well as “The Wonderful World of Disney presents The Little Mermaid Live!” – which premiered as the most-watched live TV musical in four years. Under her leadership, ABC ranked as the No. 1 entertainment network of the 2019-2020 season and, for the first time in 24 years, regained the title as the No. 1 network for summer in 2019, propelled by the No. 1 series of summer – “The Bachelorette” – and an expanded and successful “Summer Fun & Games” brand. Additionally, ABC had two of the top four comedy series with “The Conners” and “The Goldbergs,” along with two of fall 2020’s top three new series: David E. Kelley’s “Big Sky” and game show “Supermarket Sweep” hosted by Leslie Jones.

Prior to ABC Entertainment, Burke served as executive vice president of Programming and Development at Freeform since October 2014. In this role, she was charged with overseeing scripted and unscripted development, current original programming, casting and talent development. Burke was also responsible for creating and executing a cohesive programming strategy for multiplatform distribution and developing the high-quality, brand-defining content for which Freeform is now known. During her tenure, she transformed the programming slate, delivering 2018’s No. 1 new cable comedy (“grown-ish”) and No. 1 new cable drama (“Siren”) among its target audience and establishing Freeform as the top-rated cable channel among Women 18-34.

Before Freeform, Burke partnered with director Todd Holland (“Malcolm in the Middle,” “The Larry Sanders Show”) in Dark Toy Entertainment, which they created in 2010, and previously joined forces with Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg as the third partner in their company, Katalyst Films. Prior, she partnered with Jamie Tarses in an overall production deal with NBC Universal Television. From 1999 until 2003, she served as executive vice president of Primetime Series at NBC, overseeing production of all primetime comedy and drama programming, including Emmy Award-winning shows “West Wing,” “Will & Grace” and “ER.” During this time, she supervised the development of acclaimed series “Freaks and Geeks,” “Scrubs,” “American Dreams,” “Boomtown,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and “Ed.” As senior vice president of Primetime Series from 1996-1999, Burke was involved in the development and production of “Friends,” “Mad About You,” “Providence” and “Just Shoot Me,” among other series.

Burke began her career as a comedy development assistant at NBC after graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from UCLA with a degree in communication studies. She sits on the board of directors for Peabody, The Paley Center and Alliance for Children’s Rights.