NBCU Expands Female Forward Program to Telemundo

NBCU Launch, the umbrella brand that houses the diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across NBCUniversal’s television portfolio, has struck up a new partnership with Telemundo to support Hispanic female directors.

NBCU Launch is introducing a Telemundo track to its landmark Female Forward initiative, which has successfully provided experienced female directors an opportunity to break into episodic television over the last four years.

Starting with the upcoming 2022-23 class and thereafter, two Female Forward applicants who select the Telemundo track of the program will shadow on at least two episodes of a Telemundo scripted series, culminating in an in-season directing assignment on the same series.

This expansion of Female Forward coincides with Telemundo’s Mujeres Imparables (Unstoppable Women) initiative, which seeks to advance Latinas by sharing their diverse success stories, highlighting their contributions to all sectors of society and fostering solutions for the challenges that remain for their progress.

“Our new partnership with Telemundo is emblematic of one of our core goals, which is to combine inclusion efforts with our sister networks and studios so that together we can create comprehensive and meaningful change,” said Jeanne Mau, senior VP of TV programming diversity, equity and inclusion at NBCUniversal. “Our shared objectives with Telemundo give us a unique opportunity to place an even greater focus on Hispanic female directors. This evolution of our groundbreaking Female Forward initiative is just the beginning of our efforts to grow this underrepresented community while we also continue to focus on other marginalized groups who still desperately need opportunities in the director’s chair.”

“The numbers don’t lie—Latinas are underrepresented across our industry, and especially in the director’s chair,” said Mónica Gil, executive VP, chief administrative and marketing officer at NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. “We’re thrilled to be working hand in hand with our colleagues at NBCUniversal to support a shared commitment to our Latina community. We can’t wait to meet the directors and bring even more visionary and unstoppable women to the network.”