By Lynn Elber, Television Writer
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.(AP) --Perry Simon, PBS' newly announced programming chief, is a veteran of commercial broadcasting, cable and digital media who said Monday it's a "privilege" to join public television.
PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger said that Simon will start in September as chief programming executive and general manager, with responsibility for all fare except that for children.
Kerger, speaking to a TV critics' meeting Monday, lauded the scope of Simon's career experience and his work in the non-profit arts sector.
The search to replace Beth Hoppe, who left as programming chief in February to join ABC News, focused on someone who understood the changing media landscape and how PBS reaches viewers on different platforms, including digital ones, Kerger said.
An executive committed to the "values and mission of PBS" and who believes in its value was critical in making the selection, she said.
Simon, who held executive positions at Viacom Productions and NBC Entertainment, most recently served as managing director at Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's Vulcan Productions, which makes documentaries, TV series and digital content and has teamed with PBS on projects including the recent documentary "Going to War."
From 2010-15, Simon was BBC America's general manager and oversaw production of its first original programs including the Emmy-winning series "Orphan Black." He also was involved in U.S-British productions including the dramas "Luther" and "Broadchurch."
In a statement, Simon called PBS' commitment to "quality, education and diversity across every genre" unmatched in the TV industry. He told The Associated Press he considers it a privilege to work in public television, declining to talk about his new job in detail before officially starting at PBS.
Simon, who serves on the board of directors of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, earned a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and a master's degree from Harvard Business School.
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More