NBC announced this week the launch of its annual Alternative Directors Program, the first in the industry, which will focus on bringing more female and ethnically diverse directors into unscripted programming on NBC and shows by Universal Television Alternative Studio.
Five budding directors with at least one directing credit will be given an opportunity to shadow veterans over several weeks, and receive mentorship by Alan Carter (“The Voice”), Ivan Dudynsky (“Hollywood Game Night”), Russell Norman (“America’s Got Talent”) and Alex Rudzinski (“World of Dance”), according to the network.
Meredith Ahr, Universal Television Alternative Studio president, said the program is a part of tackling the lack of diversity behind the camera and “creates a big opportunity to start changing the unscripted landscape and flip the paradigm on who calls the shots in our industry.” “While much of the conversation around inclusion has been focused on scripted programming, we believe that a big piece of the puzzle is missing without equal concentration on the unscripted space, which makes up a big percentage of what audiences are watching every week,” she said.
NBC’s diversity initiatives include Female Forward and the Emerging Director Program. Among the talent that has passed through its programs are Nisha Ganatra, Mindy Kaling, Sharat Raju and Alan Yang.
The submission deadline for the 2018-19 season is June 29. Visit NBCUniTIPS.com for more information.
