Odetta Watkins: Last News

Wilson Chapman editorIn tandem with its 75th anniversary, the Hollywood Radio and Television Society will launch a charitable foundation to support the careers of entertainment professionals from underrepresented backgrounds. The creation of the charity org, known as the HRTS Foundation, was announced by HRTS board president Odetta Watkins, HRTS board chairperson Dan Erlij and HRTS CEO Melissa Grego.“We share a common passion across our leadership and membership for creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive industry,” Watkins said in a statement.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Amazon MGM Studios has hired veteran TV executive Stacy Fung as part of its drama series team, Variety has learned exclusively. In her new senior executive role, Fung will be a part of the team led by Odetta Watkins, head of drama, ongoing series at Amazon MGM Studios. The team is responsible for managing new and returning Amazon series such as “Reacher,” “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” “The Terminal List,” “Cross,” and more.

The Hollywood Radio & Television Society (HRTS) has new leadership.

Selena Kuznikov The Hollywood Radio and Television Society has elected six new board members to its HRTS Foundation, the org announced Wednesday. The HRTS Foundation, first launched in 2022 (in honor of the HRTS’ 75th anniversary) is a charity that aims to foster “a more diverse, equitable and inclusive TV and entertainment industry.” Joining the board: Aimie Billon, a partners and strategy consultant in cause-related storytelling; Keely Cat-Wells, to co-founder and CEO of Making Space; Tony Jonas, the founcer of Tony Jonas Prods.; Noriko Kelley, the exec VP of programming strategy at CBS Entertainment; Dick Lippin, the chairman, chief executive and founder of The Lippin Group; and Frederic Richter, a writer, researcher and NYU SPS faculty member.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Melissa Grego, a former Variety reporter who brought new energy to the Hollywood Radio and Television Society as CEO and helped expand its membership base to the largest in its 76 year history, has extended her contract with the organization to 2025. The news comes as the HRTS, which provides programming, fellowship and other support for executives, aspiring industry leaders and others across the business, has announced a newly elected group of board members and advisory council members. The news was announced on Wednesday by HRTS president Odetta Watkins — whose day job is serving as head of drama series at Amazon Studios — and Grego. Grego, whose previous work as a journalist also included overseeing the TV trade Broadcasting & Cable as its editor, joined HRTS in 2017 and immediately began collaborating with its board (which also includes HRTS chairperson Dan Erlij, the senior partner and co-head of TV literary at UTA) to grow the org’s various programs and create some new ones.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Amazon Studios’ head of drama series Odetta Watkins says big-budget drama “Citadel,” which has yet to crack Nielsen’s weekly streaming rankings, still “needs time to grow” with “very jaded” U.S. audiences. The exec was speaking at the Banff World Media Festival in Alberta, Canada, on Sunday, where the global-facing “Citadel” was a key topic of conversation during an international media leaders panel, moderated by The Ankler’s Elaine Low. In response to a question from Variety about “Citadel’s” sluggish domestic performance but strong showing overseas — and whether that matters to Prime Video — Watkins said: “I can tell you from a creative perspective, for me, it’s a victory, because the show was conceived to be able to speak to the world.”

Citadel, the big-budget drama starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden, was designed as a global franchise with a U.S. series and planned spinoffs set in countries including Italy and Mexico.