The Dana Walden Discourse at Disney

Dana Walden
Dana Walden, newly minted Chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content. Photo: John Sciulli/Getty Images
Matthew Belloni
June 17, 2022

She’d never say so publicly, but Dana Walden has to be annoyed by how her big promotion played out. Walden has thrived for thirty years at Fox and Disney, most of that tenure paired with another male executive—first Gary Newman, then Peter Rice—who was considered the “business” mind while she handled the creative execution that generated all the value: Modern Family, Homeland, Empire, This Is Us, Ryan Murphy before he damaged his brand at Netflix. All pure profit, and better content, qualitatively, than most of the populist stuff that becomes megahits. Finally, at 58, Walden has ascended to the top TV job, the entire general entertainment empire, the role that reports to the C.E.O.—and instead of a media coronation, the headlines are all about the man she’s replacing. Ooof.