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Pearlena Igbokwe has just been named President of Universal Television at NBCUniversal. Igbokwe, who has worked at NBC since 2012, will be the first Black woman to head a major television studio.

Igbokwe was previously the Executive Vice President of Drama Development at the company, overseeing the production of hit prime-time series such as The Blacklist, Blindspot, and Shades of Blue and the highly anticipated upcoming fall 2016 drama This Is Us.



Her impressive resume goes beyond NBC. For 20 years she worked as a programming executive for Showtime, leading the development of even more successful dramas such as Dexter and Nurse Jackie.

The president of NBC Entertainment Jennifer Salke made the announcement on Friday praising Igbokwe's accomplishments as key factors to helping NBC become one of the current leading prime-time networks.

Pearlena’s remarkable track record in drama programming at NBC over the last few years made it clear that she was the ideal choice to lead the studio into its next phase of growth,” said Jennifer Salke. “Her leadership, vision and taste have resulted in an impressive string of drama successes – from The Blacklist, Blindspot, Chicago Med, Shades of Blue and the upcoming series This Is Us,Timeless and Taken—that coincides with our return to a top position among networks.

(Photo: Deadline via NBCUniversal)