Gail Berman

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. She received the 2024 Norman Lear Achievement Award for her outstanding work in Television.

Berman is the Chairman and CEO of The Jackal Group, a production company creating scripted and unscripted television, feature films, and live theater. TJG has produced such varying projects as the cultural phenomenon, TIDYING UP WITH MARIE KONDO for Netflix and THE ADDAMS FAMILY and THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2 animated hit films for MGM. Berman’s recent successful film ELVIS premiered to great acclaim and eight Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. JACKAL currently has a number of television projects in production. These include WEDNESDAY, for Netflix; GRIMSBURG, an animated comedy starring Jon Hamm currently in production on Season 2 for FOX, and THE PERFECT COUPLE for Netflix starring Nicole Kidman, which was #1 on Netflix. Gail most recently signed an overall deal with Sony Television.

Concurrently, in 2019 Berman initiated and served as the Chairperson of Sidecar Content Accelerator an in-house production studio for FOX ENTERTAINMENT.  

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.  

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 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and ANGEL. Gail has produced over 300 episodes of television.  

Ms. Berman spent seven years as co-founder and co-owner of the media company BermanBraun, which became an innovator in the digital arena, creating and operating many successful online brands in categories including celebrity, entertainment and lifestyle.  

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,” 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. Currently, Berman is developing two stage musicals based on award winning films, “Black Swan” with composer Dave Malloy, book writer Jen Silverman, and director Sonya Tayeh, as well as “Elvis” based on the Academy Award winning film with director Alex Timbers. 

In 2003, Berman was named to FORTUNE magazine’s list of 50 Most Powerful Women in American Business (#25). That same year, she received the coveted Lucy Award, recognizing “women who have revolutionized the television industry” from Women in Film. In 2004, she was named to FORBES magazine’s list of 100 Most Powerful Women in the World (#49), reappeared on the FORTUNE list (#25) and received the inaugural Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award from the National Association of Television Production Executives (NATPE). Berman also was awarded the title of Executive of the Year (2004) by the Caucus for Television Producers, Writers and Directors in January 2005. In 2006, Berman became a Paley Center for Media “She Made It” honoree. Berman serves on the Board of Directors of the IMAX Corporation. She is also a Vice President of the Center Theatre Group Board of Directors, Los Angeles’ preeminent non-profit theater company, which oversees the Ahmanson Theatre, the Mark Taper Forum and the Kirk Douglas Theatre. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Television Academy.