Michelle Byars is vice president of development at ITV Entertainment, part of ITV America, overseeing all stages of development – from paper to casting, presentation and pilots – across the company’s slate of formats, series and specials for streaming, broadcast, cable and digital platforms. Current ITV Entertainment series include Love Island (CBS), Queer Eye (Netflix), The Chase (ABC) and Hell’s Kitchen (FOX), with projects in development for HBO Max, Disney+ and Amazon, among others.

Prior to ITV Entertainment, Byars spent eight years at Turner Entertainment, most recently serving as senior director of unscripted, series and live events. She was part of the core team at TBS that re-launched its unscripted business with Drop the Mic (hosted by Method Man and Hailey Bieber), Snoop Dogg Presents the Joker’s Wild, The Misery Index and Shaq Life. In addition to the variety of series she developed for Turner, Byars also managed special events and awards properties including the “Annual AFI Life Achievement Award Tributes” for Diane Keaton (2017), George Clooney (2018) and Denzel Washington (2019); the iHeart Radio Music Awards (2018); and the Screen Actors Guild Awards (2018, 2019, & 2020).

Speaking on: Pitching Partners: Asylum Entertainment, ITV Entertainment, Pilgrim Media Group