State of the Industry

Tom has an illustrious career that spans thirty years in the entertainment industry. A gifted director, actor and producer, he is a true multi-hyphenate.
He has helmed over 100 episodes of television which recently include INVENTING ANNA, BRIDGERTON and THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY. A veteran actor with a distinguished career on stage and screen, he co-starred opposite Viola Davis as her husband, Sam Keating, on the ABC hit, HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER.

Shonda Rhimes has brought Tom in house at Shondaland to serve as the company’s head of creative production. In the newly created advisory role, Verica helps to translate Rhimes’ creative vision across all Shondaland productions.

Jennifer Loren (Cherokee Nation) is an Emmy award-winning filmmaker and senior director of Cherokee Film, where she oversees Cherokee Film Productions, Cherokee Film Studios, the Cherokee Film Commission, and the Cherokee Film Institute. Selected as an inagural Obama Leader by the Obama Foundation, Jennifer is globally recognized for breaking new ground in Native American representation in film. In addition to hosting the Emmy-award winning docuseries “Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People,” Jennifer leads a team of change-makers, whose mission is to protect and share the authentic Cherokee experience and increase the presence of Native Americans across film and media.

In her role as Senior Vice President of Television Development, Jocelyn is responsible for shepherding many high-profile series including the John Wick Spinoff series, THE CONTINENTAL, and the Spartacus Spinoff series, SPARTACUS: THE HOUSE OF ASHUR. During her ten-year tenure at Lionsgate Television, Jocelyn has been at the helm for HBO Max’s JULIA, Starz’s MINX, Apple’s ACAPLUCO, Roku’s SWIMMING WITH SHARKS, and Showtime’s THE FIRST LADY. Additionally, she developed and launched several Lionsgate Television-produced series for Starz including the Powerverse series. Jocelyn also worked on Netflix’s mega-hit series ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK.

Jennifer Gwartz is Executive Vice President of UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group. In her role, she guides operational workflows across all of UCP’s studio functions, including production, current programming and development. The studio’s top titles include the Emmy® Award-winning show “The Umbrella Academy”; critically acclaimed series “Dr. Death,” “Ted,” “Based on a True Story” and “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off”; and fan favorites “Chucky,” and “Resident Alien.” Gwartz and her team collaborate with visionary storytellers, including Nick Antosca, Sam Esmail, Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, John Legend, Seth MacFarlane, Patrick Macmanus, Sue Naegle and Tanya Saracho.

Coming Soon!

Diana Williams is the Co-founder & CEO of Kinetic Energy Entertainment, a multidisciplinary entertainment and venture studio which develops and produces story-based IP for distribution across all platforms. Kinetic partners with a diversity of talent who are pushing the boundaries of storytelling and technology, with an eye towards the future of media and entertainment. An award-winning producer, Diana built her career in scripted film/tv, unscripted and documentary. Her experience ranges from indie film to studio franchises, and across the media landscape including videogames, podcasts and location based experiences. Prior to Kinetic, DIana was the Creative Development/Franchise Producer for Star Wars at Lucasfilm, and was a founding member of the team that launched ILMxLAB, an immersive entertainment and mixed reality laboratory. She has also consulted for a variety of companies across categories including studios/streamers, game developers, theater and tech.

Peter White is now Executive Editor of Television. Having joined Deadline in 2017, White heads the U.S. TV staff while leading our coverage of the networks, studios and streamers. His specialties are late-night, unscripted TV, executive turnover and the podcasting business. He is based in Los Angeles, having moved from London in 2020.