New York Alpha Phi Kevin Reilly is the new president of TBS and TNT and chief creative officer for Turner Entertainment. His new role was announced by Turner’s President David Levy on November 4, 2014. He will be responsible for overseeing and leading the TNT and TBS networks and brands, including all content development; business affairs and production; marketing, brand and creative services; digital platforms; and program scheduling, planning and content-monetization strategies.
As chief creative officer, Reilly will chair the newly formed Turner Entertainment Programming Council, a coordinated effort engaging the senior programming executives of TNT, TBS, Adult Swim and truTV to explore and develop cross-platform opportunities; expand the division’s pipeline of leading content; and position and advantage Turner as the premier partner for creative providers of every genre. Reilly will be based in Los Angeles, reporting to Levy.
FOX
At Fox, Reilly supervised and introduced several successful and critically celebrated TV series. Most recently, Reilly introduced hit drama “Sleepy Hollow (TV series), Golden Globe Award winner Brooklyn Nine-Nine, as well as The Following, the highest-rated broadcast drama of the 2012-13 season and The Mindy Project, the #1 new comedy of 2012-13 to be picked up for a second season. Reilly also championed New Girl, the network’s highest-rated fall sitcom debut in 10 years. Reilly launched Glee, which won the Golden Globe for Best Series – Musical or Comedyin 2010. Glee is the most Emmy-winning comedy in the network’s history. He is generally credited with creating Jane Lynch’s character, Sue Sylvester, on the show. Reilly also developed and launched Seth MacFarlane’s The Cleveland Show and the J.J. Abrams thriller Fringe at Fox.
Reilly left Fox in May 2014.
NBC
Reilly joined Fox from NBC, where he served as President, Entertainment from May 2004 to May 2007. Having begun his career at NBC Entertainment almost two decades earlier, he returned there in fall 2003 as President of Primetime Development.
Early in his career at NBC, Reilly supervised Law & Order in its first season and developed ER. After his first stint at NBC, Reilly was President of Brad Grey Television, the television production arm of Brillstein-Grey Entertainment. He joined Brillstein-Grey in 1994. He was responsible for shepherding some of television’s top shows, such as the pilot for The Sopranos, and the NBC comedies Just Shoot Me! and NewsRadio. Reilly’s vocal support of The Office helped it survive its low-rated first season. He is credited with developing shows such as My Name Is Earl, Heroes, 30 Rock, and Friday Night Lights. Despite having received a new three-year contract at NBC in February 2007, Reilly’s partnership with NBC was terminated in late May 2007, and Reilly departed soon after. Approximately one month later, Reilly was hired as President of Entertainment at FOX.
FX
Prior to his tenure at NBC, Reilly served as President of Entertainment for FX. In that role, Reilly helped redefine the basic cable business with an aggressive slate of original quality programming including The Shield, Nip/Tuck, and Rescue Me. Within a year of his arrival, FX made cable history with its seminal series, The Shield, which broke cable ratings records when it premiered and went on to receive a Golden Globe Award for Best Drama Series (2002) and an Emmy Award for lead actor Michael Chiklis (2002).
