Episode #5 - "In The Begining with Gail Berman"

Art Bell and Vinnie Favale discuss the early days of the Comedy Channel with fellow Comedy Channel executive Gail Berman.

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Gail Berman is recognized as one of the most prolific content creators in the entertainment business, having launched award-winning properties for television, film, digital and the Broadway stage.

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Berman is the Chairman and CEO of The Jackal Group, a production studio creating scripted and unscripted television, feature films, and commercial theater. The Jackal Group has produced such varying projects as the cultural phenomenon, Tidying Up With Marie Kondo for Netflix.  On the theatrical side, The Jackal Group currently has Elvis, the Baz Luhrmann musical film for Warner Brothers and Carlin which the biopic on the life of George Carlin. 

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Berman is one of the few media executives to hold the top posts at both a major film studio and a broadcast television network.  She was named President of Paramount Pictures in March 2005.  Before joining Paramount, Ms. Berman served from 2000 to 2005 as President of Entertainment for Fox Broadcasting Company.  She took the network to the top of the ratings for the first time in its history, developing iconic hits such as American Idol, 24, House, and Arrested Development.

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Prior to FOX, Ms. Berman served as founding President of Regency Television, the TV studio created in 1998 as a co-venture between Fox Television Studios and New Regency Productions. Under Berman, Regency Television quickly grew into one of the most prolific and respected suppliers of TV entertainment programming, including the primetime hit Malcolm In The Middle. Earlier, as President and CEO of Sandollar Television, Berman served as executive producer on the global hit shows Family Guy, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel. Gail has produced over 300 episodes of television.

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Berman began her career as a theater producer after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in theater from the University of Maryland. At 23, she co-produced her first Broadway show, the original Broadway production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” (ROBERT STIGWOOD) which went on to garner seven Tony Award nominations. Berman’s other Broadway productions include “Hurlyburly,” by David Rabe (1984); Athol Fugard’s “Blood Knot” (1985); and “The Nerd,” by Larry Shue (1987). All three productions received Tony Award nominations.

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Ms. Berman currently serves as President of the Producers Guild of America.