CBS is looking to improve their diversity efforts and have laid out a plan to get this done for the 2021 and 2022 season.
According to Deadline, CBS “is committing 25% of its script development budget to projects from creators, writers and producers who are Black, Indigenous and people of color.”
They’re also making it a requirement to have Black and Indigenous people of color in the room. “It is also mandating that writers’ rooms for CBS shows must be staffed with a minimum of 40% BIPOC representation for the 2021/22 broadcast season. This will be increased to 50% for the 2022/23 season.”
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The broadcaster has also “committed additional BIPOC writers on select CBS series for the upcoming 2020-2021 broadcast season.”
This comes after protests in support of Black Lives Matters have started to make a significant impact across the country, including Hollywood.
“While steady progress has been made in recent years both in front of and behind the camera, change needs to happen faster, especially with creators and leadership roles on the shows,” said George Cheeks, President and Chief Executive Officer for the CBS Entertainment Group. “As a network with ambitions to be a unifier and an agent of change at this important time, these new initiatives will help accelerate efforts to broaden our storytelling and make CBS programming even more diverse and inclusive.”
CBS is the first broadcast network in the U.S. to put forth so much effort towards diversity.
