Rock’n Robin Productions, the production outfit run by Robin Roberts, has announced two executive hires. Reni Calister is the new chief content officer and Quanny Carr is director of development. 

Roberts, anchor on Good Morning America, is president of Rock’n Robin. 

"Reni and Quanny are dedicated storytellers and a ‘dream team’ who are ready to take Rock’n Robin Productions to new heights,” said Roberts. “As we ready to celebrate our ten-year anniversary at RRP, I am excited to embark on this new chapter with Reni and Quanny as they spearhead creative and continue our mission of impactful storytelling that inspires audiences and champions many stories that might otherwise not be told.” 

Calister was head of development at Rock’n Robin from 2018 to 2022, then was executive VP of content at TOGETHXR, a media company founded by Olympians Alex Morgan, Sue Bird, Chloe Kim and Simone Manuel. She previously worked at HBO Documentary Films. 

Carr was director of current at TOGETHXR. 

Launching in 2014, Rock’n Robin programs include The Great War and The Harlem Hellfighters on History. 

Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who spent 10 months in a Russian prison, sits with Robin Roberts for a primetime special on ABC Wednesday, May 1. The 20/20 special is called Prisoner in Russia: The Brittney Griner Interview. 

“In the wide-ranging interview, Griner talks candidly for the first time about her harrowing arrest and time in prison, where she describes feeling ‘less than human’ and the suicidal thoughts she had while being detained,” 20/20 said. “She also talks about navigating the Russian penal system and the anguish she experienced being what she calls a political prisoner. The special reveals new details about the negotiations behind the prisoner swap that led to Griner’s release and goes home with her as she unzips her duffle bag from Russia, sharing a few personal possessions she says got her through the ordeal.”

20/20 shared a trailer: 

Griner was arrested in February 2022, days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, at a Moscow airport for possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. She was sentenced to nine years in prison, but was released in December 2022. 

Roberts also speaks with Griner’s wife, attorney Cherelle Griner, about her role in rallying for Brittney’s release. 

The special goes for an hour and will be on Hulu May 2. 

ABC said Griner has also partnered with ESPN and Disney Entertainment to share her story on their platforms. A documentary feature from ESPN Films and scripted series development with ABC Signature are in the works. All are part of The Walt Disney Company. 

Griner is a center for the Phoenix Mercury. Her memoir, Coming Home, is available on Tuesday, May 7.

Roberts played basketball at Southeastern Louisiana University.  

The primetime special is a production of ABC News’ 20/20 and ABC News Studios. Janice Johnston and Jonathan Blakely are executive producers. 

Robin Roberts will head up a new production unit at ABC News, which will produce narrative nonfiction projects, including series, specials and documentaries for ABC, Hulu and Disney Plus. ABC News calls the unit’s projects “a natural extension of Roberts’s background covering pop culture, newsmakers and world events over her 20-plus year career.”

Roberts is co-anchor of Good Morning America and president of Rock’n Robin Productions, which launched in 2014. 

“Robin Roberts’s career is a masterclass in powerful storytelling that, over the years, has left an indelible mark on ABC News and people around the world,” said ABC News president Kim Godwin. “This dedicated ABC News Studios production unit will make it possible for Robin to seamlessly produce more premium, original content about extraordinary people and places like only Robin can.”

The unit’s first project is Kerry Washington: Thicker Than Water — a Conversation with Robin Roberts. That premieres Sunday, September 24 on ABC, and is on Hulu the following day. The one-hour primetime special is part of 20/20. Washington’s memoir Thicker Than Water is due out next week. 

The new unit does not have an official name. 

“I’m thrilled to now have a home within ABC News Studios to produce projects I really care about,” Roberts said. “This production team will be focused on heartfelt storytelling that reveals the mosaic of humanity.”

Jonathan Blakely is executive producer of the new unit, reporting to Mike Kelley, VP and head of ABC News Studios.

“Robin’s unique brand of storytelling infuses heart and soul into everything she does,” Kelly said. “I couldn’t be more excited about the projects this unit will produce, which I know will enrich the lives of our viewers.”

Turning the Tables with Robin Roberts starts season two on Disney Plus Wednesday, March 15. Roberts hosts and executive produces. There are four episodes. 

Guests include Brooke Shields, Chloe Kim, Chrissy Metz, Dionne Warwick, Hayley Kiyoko, Kelly Osbourne, Kyla Pratt, Loni Love, Marsai Martin, Rita Wilson, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Yaya DaCosta. 

In season two, “Roberts gets personal with a new group of Hollywood’s iconic women, where they reveal new insights into their incredible journeys on their path to purpose,” said Disney Plus. “Each episode features profoundly moving and inspirational conversations centering around real-life topics, including grace, fulfilment, certainty and community. The women detail the struggles they have faced on their journeys through fame in a safe and comforting environment: your best friend’s couch!”

Turning the Tables with Robin Roberts is produced by Rock’n Robin Productions and The SpringHillCompany. LeBron James is an executive producer. 

“Shows and stories like these are so important to tell because it lends a magnifying glass on diverse storytellers and connects us with people all over the world who have these same struggles,” said Roberts.  

The series was originally developed by Roberts and Philip Byron, SpringHill’s senior VP of unscripted and documentaries. Roberts and Reni Calister are executive producers for Rock’n Robin Productions. LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Jamal Henderson and Philip Byron are executive producers for SpringHill. Kadine Anckle is the showrunner and executive producer. ■

History Channel has tapped celebrities Robin Roberts, Pierce Brosnan and Leonardo DiCaprio to helm original, non-fiction projects, the network announced Wednesday.

Good Morning America’s Roberts will executive produce Harlem Hellfighters, a four-part documentary that will profile the all-Black, World War I Military Infantry Unit through the eyes of leader James Europe and privates Henry Jognson and Horace Pippin. The Harlem Hellfighters fought the Germans with the French Army after U.S. troops refused to fight alongside them, eventually earning France’s highest military honor, according to the network.

Harlem Hellfighters, produced by Rock’n RobinProductions and Radical Media, follows on the heels of  Roberts'  2021 History documentary, Tuskegee Airmen: Legacy and Courage.

Brosnan will host the eight-episode series History’s Greatest Heists with Pierce Brosnan, which looks at elaborate  real-life heists that have taken place throughout history.  From the Wilcox train robbery of 1899 to Boston’s Great Bring robbery in 1950, The Big Fish Entertainment-produced series will break down every aspect of each heist, including the team, the mark, the plan, how they carried it out, and eventually the fallout, said the network.

DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions will produce the documentary series Sitting Bull, which traces the life of the legendary Hunkpapa Lakota chief. The series will provide a new perspective on the United States as the nation rapidly evolved around the legendary figure and will feature involvement from the Lakota community in its production, said network officials. 

Appian Way Productions along with Stephen David Entertainment and IllumiNative will produce Sitting Bull for the network. “History is committed to delivering diverse storytelling  that showcases pivotal moments in our history, and Sitting Bull tells the story of America through an important lens – a Native American hero that immensely influenced the story of our nation,” History executive VP and head of programming Eli Leher said in a statement.  

CBS Media Ventures's Jeopardy! has had a string of guest hosts this year since the death of Alex Trebek in November.

The show’s ratings started out on top at 6.2 when Ken Jennings began his six-week guest hosting stint in the week ended Jan. 17. But since Jennings’ start the long-running game show has had a bumpy ride, bottoming out at a 4.4 with LeVar Burton at the podium in the week ended Aug. 1. Burton's stint, though, was heavily impacted by the Tokyo Olympics, which pounded most syndies in the frame.

Jeopardy! has since rebounded: first with CNBC's David Faber earning a 4.5 in the week ended Aug. 8, and then second with Fox Sports' Joe Buck nabbing a 5.2 in the week ended Aug. 15. Buck's rating marked a 13-week high for the game show and a 16% jump over the previous week.

Before Burton and Faber, the game show's lowest rating came in at a 4.7 with Savannah Guthrie, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Robin Roberts each earning that number during their respective turns at the podium.

Find out how the guest hosts (so far) stack up below. The most recent ratings are for the week ended Aug. 15 and are based on live plus same day national household ratings from Nielsen Media Research. It's also important to note that ratings are affected by more than the guest host. Preemptions, the Tokyo Olympics, and the slow summer season, for example, all have an impact.

Also Read: New 'Jeopardy!' Host Mike Richards Steps Down After Just 9 Days

Disney Plus will launch a new talk show series featuring Good Morning America co-host Robin Roberts in July.

The four-episode Turning the Tables with Robin Roberts series will feature round table conversations with Roberts and several female celebrities, including  Debbie Allen, Sofia Carson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jenna Dewan, Sheila E., Melissa Etheridge, Mickey Guyton, Betsey Johnson, Billie Jean King, Tig Notaro, Raven-Symoné and Josie Totah, said the streaming service.

Read Also: Robin Roberts Among Final Group of 'Jeopardy!' Guest Hosts 

NBA star LeBron James, through his media outlet The SpringHill Company, will serve as an executive producer for the series, which premieres on July 30. 

Read Also: The King Extends His Court to TV 

"This project is very personal to me, and I'm proud to bring it to Disney Plus," said Roberts in a statement. "The guests we've assembled are an amazing group of women who have all achieved great success in their various careers. Although they represent different age groups and backgrounds, they were all willing to open up and share their unique stories with honesty and humor. I welcome viewers to come along with me on this journey as we learn about the importance of expressing vulnerability and connecting with others."  

George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts, LeVar Burton, David Faber and Joe Buck are the final group of guest hosts to step to the podium as CBS Media Ventures’ Jeopardy! closes out its 37th season, said Mike Richards, Jeopardy!’s executive producer, on Wednesday.

“Our goal has been to present a wide variety of guest hosts with different skill sets and backgrounds on our path to finding a permanent host,” Richards, who took a hosting stint himself, said in a statement. “Our passionate fans are telling us what they like, and we are listening. All of the guest hosts have brought individualism, energy and an authentic love of our show to each of their episodes. We look forward to sharing the rest of the season with our viewers.”

The show started using guest hosts at the beginning of the year after the death of longtime host Alex Trebek on Nov. 8, 2020, starting with official Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time Ken Jennings, followed by Richards. 

Also Read: Syndication Ratings: Aaron Rodgers Leads ‘Jeopardy!’ to a Weekly Win

Since then, former CBS Evening News and Today anchor Katie Couric, cardiologist and talk-show host Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers have hosted. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper is on the air until April 30. After that, 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker, The Big Bang Theory and Call Me Kat’s Mayim Bialik, Today anchor Savannah Guthrie and CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta will take their turns, followed by the final five towards the end of the summer. A donation is made to the charity of each guest host’s choice. 

Stephanopoulos, who told Sirius XM Radio's Howard Stern almost a year ago that he was interested in hosting the show, is the anchor of ABC’s Good Morning America and This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Roberts also serves as an anchor on Good Morning America. 

Burton, who was the subject of an online petition to get him on the show, is the former host and executive producer of PBS’ Reading Rainbow. He also starred in the miniseries Roots and played Lt. Commander Geordi LaForge in Star Trek: The Next Generation. 

Also Read: Area Man Appears on ‘Jeopardy!’, Wins

Faber, who co-anchors CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, is a past winner of Celebrity Jeopardy! 

Joe Buck is a sportscaster who covers the National Football League and Major League Baseball for Fox Sports. 

In the week ended April 11, Jeopardy! returned to the top of the syndication charts, with a 14% climb to a 5.6 live plus same day national household rating, according to Nielsen.

Lifetime has extended its production partnership with Good Morning America host Robin Roberts to include four new movies, including a project on the life of gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, the network announced Monday during its virtual TCA press tour presentation.

The movie, Robin Roberts Presents: The Mahalia Jackson Story will star Danielle Brooks (Orange is The New Black) and will be produced by Kenny Leon (Steel Magnolias), according to Lifetime.

“Having had the privilege of working with Kenny on Steel Magnolias and Robin Roberts on Stolen by my Mother, I am ecstatic to have them join forces to work together on this special project,” said Tanya Lopez, EVP of Movies, Limited Series & Original Movie Acquisitions, Lifetime and LMN in a statement. “Adding Danielle Brooks as Mahalia is icing on the cake. This team is committed in celebrating the legacy of Mahalia and reintroducing her to a world that needs her spirit more than ever.”

The network also announced that it will develop more than 30 new original holiday movies as part of Lifetime’s annual It’s a Wonderful Lifetime programming block, launching in mid-October and running through December.

Among the celebrities starring in the network’s original holiday movies are Betty White, Kelly Rowland, Mario Lopez, Tiffany Haddish and Robin Givens, according to the network. 

Viewers could not get enough of TV news during the 2016 presidential election, spelling a windfall for the top news outlets. Needless to say, Donald Trump’s move to the White House has helped keep the ratings robust. Viewers look to the journalists they most respect to assess our nation’s new leadership and the sizzling issues that divide us, and to break down the latest developments in a coherent, and appealing, manner.

We spotlight 10 of the most influential figures in TV news today. Whether they’re network brass or on-air talent, on broadcast or cable, or focused on morning or evening news, we highlight who is making the most of their perch in the news game, and leaving the largest mark on the industry. Among the top anchors, one thing becomes clear: The stoic demeanor that has long defined the role is anything but required.

Who is most masterfully using newer media platforms? Who is doing the best job of tackling Trump? Who is leaving the concept of fake news far, far behind?

Our top TV news players make a case for the answers.

Related > It’s All Business Leading a Net on a Roll: Q&A With FBN's Brian Jones

JOHN DICKERSON
CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent; Host, Face the Nation

Dickerson had a tough act to follow when he succeeded Bob Schieffer as Face the Nation host two years ago. But he has done a bang-up job, with an expert’s knowledge of the hot political issues, and a knack for knocking power players off their script with incisive questions.

“He stepped into giant shoes, and I think he filled them well,” former CBS News president Andrew Heyward said.

Dickerson put in a dozen years covering politics at Time, and then did a memorable stint at Slate.com before joining CBS News in 2009, decades after his mother was a producer there.

He has displayed a knack for maneuvering deftly on the newer platforms, hosting the podcast Whistlestop, which chronicles great moments in presidential history; running a lively blog on Tumblr; and amassing 2.17 million Twitter followers.

Dickerson showed his interviewing mettle when he pushed President Donald Trump in April on comments made about President Barack Obama tapping his phone. Trump ended up walking out during the questioning. “How delicious it is to see Trump’s protestations about ‘fake news’ come straight back in his face,” Erik Wemple said in The Washington Post. — Michael Malone

RACHEL MADDOWHost, The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC

MSNBC topped CNN in primetime among viewers 25-54 in the second quarter, and much of the credit for the major momentum goes to Maddow. The onetime Air America Radio host is now very much a full-blown TV star, averaging 2.5 million total viewers in the second quarter in her 9 p.m. slot, and emerging as a voice of reason in the key younger demo.

The Rachel Maddow Show premiered in 2008 and found its voice during the Obama administration. When Trump took over the presidency, Maddow and Co. were ready to rock. NBC News chairman Andrew Lack set out to remake MSNBC as a nonpartisan news channel, but it is liberal personalities, such as Maddow, that define the network. Her steely focus on the administration’s missteps, including its connection with Russia, is music to the ears of many Americans who disapprove of the president.

Fellow MSNBC host Chris Hayes, speaking in Rolling Stone, referred to Rhodes scholar Maddow as “a master of the medium,” with a knack for smart storytelling and a tireless work rate. — MM

ROLAND MARTIN
Anchor, NewsOne Now, TV One

Roland Martin is unapologetic about delivering breaking news and top issues of the day from an African-American perspective — one that is often ignored by mainstream cable channels — on his four-year-old, one-hour TV One morning news show, NewsOne Now.

From topics such as health care to issues relating to gun violence, the former CNN on-air reporter and the recipient of the 2013 Journalist of the Year award from the National Association of Black Journalists continues to provide African-American viewers with a forum to discuss and examine how such issues affect their lives. As a result, 2016 was NewsOne Now’s most-watched year ever.

Martin’s powerful voice on such issues has led TV One to expand NewsOne Now to two hours beginning this fall. “Since we launched the show, our audience has been clamoring for more coverage of the issues they wanted to talk about from their own perspective, so the extra hour gives us more opportunities to do more news or to go deeper into stories,” Martin said this past April during the network’s upfront presentation. — R. Thomas Umstead

JORGE RAMOS
Anchor, Noticiero Univision; Host, Al Punto

Ramos is a man for all platforms. He has been Univision’s Noticiero anchor since 1986, writes a weekly column for a variety of newspapers and provides daily radio commentary on Radio Univision. He is also host of the weekly public-affairs show Al Punto and the young adult Englishlanguage newscast America With Jorge Ramos on Fusion.

The Hispanic community sees Ramos as more than a journalist; he is also viewed as an advocate for their most heartfelt issues. When Ramos was ejected from a Donald Trump press conference in August 2015 after posing a question about immigration, many viewers felt they were being booted out, too.

Like his viewers, Ramos sees immigration as more than a political issue. “This is personal,” Ramos told CNN after his ejection. “When he’s talking about immigrants, he’s talking about me.”

Ramos, a Mexican-American, delivers the evening news with Maria Elena Salinas. In 2015, he made the list of Time’s 100 Most Influential People. Said Christiane Amanpour in Time: “He knows he has a voice and is not afraid to use it. He shouts from every rooftop that Hispanic rights are human rights.” — MM

ROBIN ROBERTS
Co-Anchor, Good Morning America, ABC

Roberts has been a rock in morning news, and the most vital element in GMA’s total-viewers winning streak. And while NBC’s Today retains the 25-54 title, GMA this past spring seized the Daytime Emmy award for Outstanding Morning Show.

Roberts has been co-anchor since 2005. Viewers respond to her genuine nature, and she’s responsible for the upbeat mood that dominates the set; absent is the wall between talent and crew one finds at other network programs. Roberts’s effusive demeanor is also essential to the chatty roundtable GMA uses to present the news.

She is, in short, “America’s broadcasting sweetheart,” said The New York Times.

If that seems like a lofty title for a morning news anchor, look at the news revenue figures. Morning news rang up $836.5 million in 2016 revenue, said Pew Research Center, nearly double evening news’s $420.9 million.

The GMA host isn’t limited to mornings. Roberts’s “intimate conversations” podcast, “Everybody’s Got Something,” recently returned for season two. Her Rock’n Robin Productions produced the ABC specials Game Changers and Thank You, America, among others. — MM

CHRISTOPHER RUDDY
CEO, Newsmax

Hundreds of journalists cover the day-to-day machinations of President Trump, but few if any have the inside access to him that Ruddy does. The 52-year-old CEO of the conservative-leaning Newsmax media juggernaut arguably makes as much news as he breaks via his website, newsletter and cable news channel.

Dubbed the “Trump whisperer” by The Washington Post, Ruddy is not shy about touting his longtime friendship with the president. In early June — hours after being seen leaving the White House — Ruddy was quoted by the mainstream press as saying that Trump was considering firing special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Ruddy also made headlines two weeks ago, speaking out against Sinclair Broadcast Group’s proposed merger with Tribune Media, telling Multichannel News that Trump himself “warned about the concentration of media power.” Ruddy is an “outsider who has insider access and, more importantly, is willing to share it,” CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter said in a June 13 column. — RTU

SUZANNE SCOTT
President, Programming & Development, Fox News Channel

It has been a brutal year at Fox News Channel, starting with Roger Ailes’s resignation, and including star host Bill O’Reilly’s departure in April and co-president Bill Shine’s in May. But the Murdochs have said they are determined to change its culture, and Scott is well-positioned to leave a lasting mark.

A 20-plus-year veteran of Fox News, she was named executive vice president of programming last summer and president of programming in May. Scott has her work cut out for her in winning over skeptical staff. She is named in multiple lawsuits against Fox News leadership, and was seen by many as a loyal deputy to Shine and to Ailes. Ailes biographer Gabriel Sherman said Scott was responsible for enforcing his dress code — miniskirts — for female talent. Fox News says Sherman is incorrect in his reporting about Scott being involved with a dress code policy.

Still, Scott is in a key position to remake the place in a less controversial public image. She moved Tucker Carlson Tonight from 9 p.m. to O’Reilly’s former slot at 8 p.m. and debuted the freewheeling Fox News Specialists in May. And with FNC retaining ratings gusto despite the loss of key players, she’s off to a promising start. — MM

JAKE TAPPER
Chief Washington Correspondent, CNN; Host, The Lead and State of the Union

Tapper earned a lofty description from an admiring The Washington Post earlier this year: “The conscience of cable news,” the paper wrote, giving him points for bluntly calling out President Trump for “falsehoods and other strange conduct.”

Indeed, the host of weekday show The Lead and Sunday series State of the Union readily reports on the at-times funky facts emerging from the White House. Upon accepting the Canadian Journalism Foundation’s Tribute Award last month (his mother is Canadian), Tapper said he became a journalist “to hold people in power accountable, to try to tell stories other journalists weren’t telling and to try to have serious discussions about the way policies impact people’s lives.”

He’ll get another award in September, when the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) gives him its John F. Hogan Distinguished Service Award for standout journalism. But the year’s highlight for Tapper, a cartoonist before the journalism kicked in, may have been when he was asked to lend those talents to the Mad magazine book MAD About Trump.

Deborah Jaramillo, director of the graduate film and television studies program at Boston University, and author of the cable news book Ugly War, Pretty Package, said Tapper’s facial expressions on-air say almost as much as his questions. “It’s interesting that he lets his frustrations show,” she said. — MM

CHUCK TODDNBC News Political Director; Host of Meet the Press (NBC) and MTP Daily (MSNBC)

U.S. politics has no larger TV figure than Chuck Todd. Thanks to Todd’s political expertise, NBC easily topped its broadcast brethren in Election Night ratings. “He knows what’s going on inside the Beltway,” news analyst Andrew Tyndall said.

Todd took on the Meet the Press host role from David Gregory in 2014 — the show had fallen into last place — and reviews focused on his straight-talking perspective, which multiple critics said reminded them of the legendary Tim Russert. The New York Times said, “Todd may still be the substitute teacher, but he looks like he could quickly master the class.”

Tyndall suggested Todd has done so, calling him “the political scientist” among the Sunday morning hosts.

Todd is not above showing his frustration with a guest when the situation allows, Jaramillo noted. That makes him “a champion for a lot of people who feel they’re under threat,” she said. — MM

JEFF ZUCKER
President, CNN Worldwide

With the country so divided along political lines, it’s a boon for Fox News Channel and MSNBC and their ideologically driven primetime programming. Yet Zucker sees the split as an opportunity for CNN. He told The New York Times that CNN viewers are akin to undecided voters, which President Trump is looking to “sway” because they’re not watching Fox News or MSNBC.

Zucker also told the Times that CNN is on track to earn more than $1 billion in profit this year. “He’s on a roll,” news analyst Andrew Tyndall said. “He’s the king of all cable news at the moment.”

Zucker has focused CNN on Trump ever since the Donald took that fateful glide down the Trump Tower escalator two years ago. The president’s disdain for CNN grows every day, and the network’s missteps, including the resignations of three journos after a faulty story about a Trump ally, only gave him more ammunition. But those setbacks have the hyper-competitive Zucker even more motivated to focus his 3,500 staffers on doing a standout job.

Tyndall said CNN has joined The Washington Post and The New York Times as “central players” in vital Trump news. — MM

This story was updated on July 31 to include a Fox News rebuttal.