Mindy Kaling, Bela Bajaria and Priya Swaminathan are among ‘100 Women in Entertainment Power,” an annual list compiled by The Hollywood Reporter which “focuses on the execs, filmmakers, showrunners, producers and actors who made moves in a year unlike any other.” THR says that “while the past 14 months may have seen a shift in the usual benchmarks for success,” these women “rose above the turmoil with vision and resilience.”
Bela Bajaria is the head of Global TV, Netflix. THR says that “at the height of the pandemic, Bajaria’s purview grew considerably with the addition of former domestic content chief Cindy Holland’s portfolio.” In her role, Bajaria is “tasked with overseeing all TV content for the global streamer, which includes a dizzying slate of scripted and unscripted series as well as overall deals with powerhouse showrunners such as Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy.”
Priya Swaminathan is the co-head of Higher Ground Productions, the former first family’s Hollywood enterprise, along with former first lady Michelle Obama and Tonia Davis. The production company started in 2020 with an Oscar win for “American Factory,” only to follow it up with the Academy Award-nominated “Crip Camp,” THR says. “In addition, Michelle Obama proved exceedingly prolific amid the pandemic, dropping two big projects (biographical doc “Becoming” and children’s series “Waffles + Mochi)” on Netflix, where she and former President Barack Obama continue to amass myriad high-profile projects as part of their multiyear deal.” She also launched her eponymous podcast, which quickly became the most listened-to Spotify original.
Actor, producer and writer Mindy Kaling drew on her own childhood experiences for her latest series, “Never Have I Ever.” Along with the second season of the show, “the multihyphenate’s empire is further expanding to include two upcoming series at HBO Max – “The Sex Lives of College Girls” and the animated “Velma,” whose titular character she also will voice.”Kaling was last seen on the big screen in “Late Night” (2019) as Molly Patel. The film also stars Max Casella, Hugh Dancy, John Lithgow, Denis O’Hare, Reid Scott, and Amy Ryan.