Kathryn Busby

Kathryn Busby is President of Original Programming for STARZ.

Based in the company’s Santa Monica office, Busby is responsible for leading the programming and development team for the global premium streaming platform and delivering on its programming mandate committed to narratives by, about and for women and underrepresented audiences.

Prior to joining STARZ, Busby was Executive Vice President of TriStar Television, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Busby previously served as Senior Vice President, Development for Sony Pictures Networks where she developed and produced numerous projects including “Absentia,” the critically acclaimed series that aired on Amazon for three seasons. Before joining Sony, Busby served as Vice President, Original Programming for TBS. While there, she partnered with Franklin Leonard, creator of “The Blacklist,” to create a joint initiative to identify diverse new writing talent for blind script deals and staffing consideration.
 
Busby was Senior Vice President, Production for New Line Cinema where she was an Executive Producer on the film Sex and the City. Prior to that, she held the role of Senior Vice President and Head of Development for The Carsey-Werner Company where she oversaw the development of “Grounded for Life” and “The Tracy Morgan Show.” She also worked on “3rd Rock from The Sun” and “That 70’s Show.”

She started her television career as Director, Comedy Development for Universal Television.

With over 25 years of television experience, Busby is also an award-winning screenwriter, director and producer. She directed the short film Max and Josh which premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and won the Volkswagen Relentless Drive Award. In 2005, her debut film My Purple Fur Coat won Best Children’s Short at the Houston Black Film Festival.
 
She is the former Chair of BAFTA’s North American board that strengthens the British arts charity’s global mission to inspire, support and celebrate across film, games and television.

Busby also sits on the Board of Directors for PACE (Philanthropy and Community Engagement); Peabody, providing counsel and stewardship to the organization and its commitment to spotlighting outstanding storytelling; and HRTS (Hollywood Radio and Television Society), the premier networking, education and mentorship association in the entertainment industry.

In May 2021, she was honored with a Dream Keeper Award by the I Have a Dream Foundation - Los Angeles and in November 2023 received a Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles Changemaker Award for her championship of female leadership. In March 2024, Busby was one of four honorees to receive ESSENCE magazine’s prestigious Black Women in Hollywood Award, an accolade celebrating Black women who have made significant contributions in film and television. Busby was honored alongside Academy Award-nominated and Grammy Award- winner Danielle Brooks, Grammy-nominated singer and actress Halle Bailey and screenwriter and showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll.

Over the years, Busby has been named to The Hollywood Reporter’s “Women in Entertainment” issue and “Forces for Change” list, as well as Variety’s “Women’s Impact Report: LA” and CableFax’s “Most Powerful Women” list, among several others.

Busby is a graduate of Harvard University, where she was Co-Captain of Harvard’s track team.