BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) – CBS’ entertainment president defended his network’s efforts to air more inclusive series even as it introduces a fall slate of new sitcoms and dramas with white male stars.
Glen Geller, fielding a barrage of diversity-related questions at a TV critics meeting Wednesday, repeatedly said the network must improve “and we know it.”
“In terms of leads, we’re definitely less diverse this year than last year, and we need to do better,” Geller said. But a number of actors of color are part of series ensembles, he said, and progress is being made in other areas.
“We also need to look behind the camera as well,” he said, with diversity at CBS to be found, for example, among more than half the directors on “Madam Secretary” and “The Odd Couple.”
Asked why the executive producers or “showrunners” on new CBS series are all white, Geller responded that the network “picked up the best shows from the pilots we made.”