Kelly Kahl (born October 20, 1966) is an American television executive and film producer. From 2017 to 2022, he served as the President of Entertainment at CBS.[1]
Kelly Kahl | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 20, 1966 Burlington, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Education | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Known for | President of CBS Entertainment (2017–2022) |
Early life and education
editKelly Kahl was born in Burlington, Wisconsin to Ronald and Barbara Ann Kahl. He discovered his interest in television while watching Saturday-morning cartoons and noticed programs would change time slots from year to year.[2] He attended Burlington High School, graduating in 1985.[3] He earned a degree in communications from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He then went on to receive his Master of Arts degree from USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.[2]
Career
editKahl began his career in 1990 at Lorimar Television as a research intern. He then worked at Warner Bros. Television as Director, Network Research before joining CBS as Vice President, Scheduling.[4] While serving in this role he was part of scheduling many successful CBS shows such as Bull, Blue Bloods, The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, CSI, and NCIS.[4] He was instrumental in the green-lighting of the television series Survivor.[5] According to Survivor's host Jeff Probst, Kahl had taken a risk by scheduling Survivor's second season Survivor: The Australian Outback against NBC's Friends. Survivor routinely won viewership against Friends during that season, and as a result, Kahl gained significant influence at CBS that has been used to support Survivor through its 40th season.[6]
He served as executive producer on the films Return to Zero, Sister Cities, and Saint Judy. His current favorite CBS shows include SEAL Team, Love Island and Tough as Nails.
On November 16, 2022, CBS announced that Kahl would step down as head of CBS Entertainment at the end of 2022, ending a 26-year career at the network, who announced that Amy Reisenbach would move up from her role as head of current programming to replace him.[7][8]
Personal life
editKahl lives in Hermosa Beach, CA with his wife, Kim and their two dogs, Bunny and Gracie.[3][9] He is a partner at Underground Pub and Grill.[2]
References
edit- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 30, 2017). "Kelly Kahl Named President, Thom Sherman Senior EVP CBS Entertainment". Deadline. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ a b c Battaglio, Stephen (August 27, 2017). "From Badgers to Bratwurst, Kelly Kahl kept his eye on the prize at CBS". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ a b Brines, Jon (June 6, 2017). "BHS grad gets top job at CBS Entertainment". The Journal Times. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ a b "Kelly Kahl President, CBS Entertainment". CBS Press Express. September 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ Carter, Bill (2006). Desperate Networks. New York, NY: Doubleday. pp. 84–87. ISBN 0385514409.
- ^ Ross, Dalton (January 22, 2020). "Jeff Probst explains the origins of the Survivor: Winners at War $2 million prize". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
- ^ "Kelly Kahl To Depart As CBS Entertainment President After 26 Years At Broadcast Network," from Deadline, 11/16/2022
- ^ "CBS Shakeup: Thom Sherman Steps Down & Segues To Producing Deal, Amy Reisenbach Upped To President Of Entertainment," from Deadline, 11/16/2022
- ^ Twitter https://twitter.com/calibadger/status/1371807370678915080. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
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