Television Academy chairman and CEO Hayma Washington is planning to step down at the end of his current term, TheWrap has learned.
Washington, the organization’s first African-American leader, announced on Tuesday that he will not seek a second term, choosing instead to shift his focus back to producing. The veteran producer was first elected to the post in November 2016, succeeding Bruce Rosenblum.
During his tenure, Washington oversaw two Emmys broadcasts and locked down a new eight-year deal with ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC to rotate the awards telecast through 2026.
“As I looked back at what we’ve accomplished, I couldn’t be prouder and it just felt for me as a professional and personally it was time to move on,” Washington told Variety, which first reported the news. “I’m an independent producer and as you sit in that position, you really are limited in some of the things you can do with your agendas, and mine being exclusion and inclusion and diversity. I just felt that as an independent producer, if I could get back out into that arena, I could just be so much more effective in what was personally important to me.”
Washington previously ran his own production company and served as executive producer on CBS’ “Amazing Race,” earning both seven Emmy Awards and a Producers Guild Award for his work.
Prior to that, he was at Walt Disney Studios for 10 years as vice president in two production divisions. His producing career has also included live sports, awards shows, music, comedy, drama, talk, independent films and short-form digital content.
Emmys 2018: 9 Snubs and Surprises (Photos)
The 70th Annual Emmy Awards were held on Monday night, and as is typical, the list of winners ranged from the woefully expected to the pleasantly surprising. Click through for TheWrap's list of biggest surprises and see the full rundown of winners here.
Surprise: Amazon's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" came out swinging in the early portion of the show, taking home four awards straight out of the gate, including two acting statuettes for stars Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Bornstein. The dramedy also cleaned up at the end of the night, taking home the comedy series award.
Amazon
Snub: Longtime Donald Glover collaborator Hiro Murai has been a key player in shaping the look and feel of "Atlanta" since its inception, but the director missed out on his first Emmy on Monday, part of a larger shutout of the experimental comedy's second season.
FX
Surprise: "Barry" was the only new comedy to give "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" a run for its money on Monday, with both Henry Winkler and Bill Hader winning in the male acting categories, besting previous winners like Louie Anderson, Alec Baldwin and Donald Glover.
HBO
Snub: Oscar-winner Penelope Cruz was widely expected to win for her portraying Donatella Versace in FX's "American Crime Story," but the Ryan Murphy anthology was beat out in a number of high-profile categories this season, including supporting actress, which was won by "Godless" Merritt Wever.
FX
Surprise: In what was otherwise a noticeably white evening, "Seven Seconds" star Regina King took home a lead actress award, besting "The Tale" star Laura Dern, Jessica Biel of "The Sinner" and "American Horror Story" mainstay Sarah Paulson, among others.
Netflix
Snub: Showtime's "Twin Peaks" revival was divisive in its run, and the drama clearly failed to resonate with Emmy voters. The series missed out on a number of key nominations earlier this year, and series mastermind David Lynch lost in both the writing and directing categories on Monday.
Showtime
Surprise: "The Americans" went criminally unrecognized by the Emmys throughout much of its run, but the FX drama finally got some acknowledgement for its final season, with a writing award for co-showrunners Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg and an acting win for star Matthew Rhys.
FX
Snub: "Killing Eve" star Sandra Oh became the first Asian woman nominated in the lead actress in a drama series category, making history for her role in the BBC America spy-versus-spy thriller from "Fleabag" creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge. However, she lost out to "The Crown's" Claire Foy in her final year of eligibility.
BBC America
Surprise: "RuPaul's Drag Race's" long-overdue recognition from the TV Academy began a few years ago, with multiple hosting wins for its titular host, but the Logo-turned-VH1 competition finally broke through into the main show with an Outstanding Reality Competition Program win for its 10th season.
VH1
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From “Killing Eve” star Sandra Oh’s loss to an “Atlanta” shutout, and some overdue recognition for “The Americans”
The 70th Annual Emmy Awards were held on Monday night, and as is typical, the list of winners ranged from the woefully expected to the pleasantly surprising. Click through for TheWrap's list of biggest surprises and see the full rundown of winners here.
Amazon
