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According to the Disney/ABC Television Group:
Steve McPherson today submitted his resignation as President, ABC Entertainment Group, and the Company accepted. Mr. McPherson said, “I want to thank the wonderful team of individuals who have worked with me throughout my time here and wish them nothing but the best.” A replacement for McPherson will be announced shortly.
According to his studio bio, which has been removed from the official DATG website, McPherson joined ABC Entertainment in 2004 and has been the driving force behind the network’s primetime comeback, developing quality content and then supporting it with more strategically directed marketing. The ABC Entertainment Group has delivered some of the most successful, talked-about and evolutionary series on television today, including “Desperate Housewives,” “Lost,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Brothers & Sisters,” “Dancing with the Stars” and “Modern Family.”
Prior to joining ABC, McPherson was president of Touchstone Television, where he guided Touchstone to the three best development seasons in the company’s history. In that role he led the development and production of the division’s network primetime series, specials and films, and was responsible for all day-to-day operations of the studio. He originally joined Touchstone as an executive vice president of the studio.
During his tenure at Touchstone, McPherson developed “Desperate Housewives,” “Lost” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” as well as several other successful series for ABC, including “Alias,” “8 Simple Rules,” “According to Jim,” My Wife and Kids,” “Hope & Faith,” “Less than Perfect,” “Once and Again” and “The Job.”
He and his team also developed “CSI” and the award-winning alternative series “Amazing Race” for CBS, as well as the critically acclaimed comedy “Scrubs,” originally for NBC, and “Monk,” which became a hit for the USA Network.
Prior to joining Touchstone Television, McPherson was vice president, Primetime Series at NBC, where he oversaw the development and production of such shows as “NewsRadio” and “Just Shoot Me.” Before joining NBC, he was senior vice president, Creative Affairs of ABC Productions, where he supervised both comedy and drama series, including “My So Called Life” and “The Commish.” He also served as director, Current Programming for FOX, where he helped launch “Martin” and “The Ben Stiller Show.” He began his industry career as director of Development for Witt-Thomas-Harris Productions.
McPherson has been recognized for his achievements and honored with several awards, including the Directors Guild of America’s Diversity Award, honoring his outstanding commitment to and leadership in the hiring of women and minorities in DGA categories. His was only the fourth time that the Award had been bestowed. He also received the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Committee on Diversity’s first Televisionary Award in recognition of his commitment to diversity both on-screen and behind-the-scenes in the 2004-05 television season. He received the Executive of the Year Award for 2005 from the Caucus for Television Producers, Writers & Directors for his contribution to the industry. He was also named the 2006 Television Showman of the Year at the International Cinematographers Guild 43rd Annual Publicists Awards in March, in recognition of his outstanding stewardship of the network in 2005.
McPherson is a graduate of Cornell University, with a BA in Political Science.
