Tara Duncan is an American executive in the entertainment industry. She is president of Onyx Collective, which focuses on content creators of color and underrepresented voices,[1][2] and is known for her role in diversifying content.[3][4] Duncan previously served as president of Freeform, Disney's cable network for Gen Z, from 2020–2023.[5] As of 2021, Duncan was one of only a few entertainment industry executives in the United States who is black.[6]
In 2023, Duncan was named a 2023 Black Women in Hollywood Honoree by Essence magazine.[7]
An avid television watcher since childhood, Duncan grew up in Inland Empire, two hours east of Los Angeles.[8][1] She was a fan of My So-Called Life and General Hospital.[8] During her senior year in high school, Duncan had an internship at ABC Daytime, which she secured with help from Sarah Dorsey Rice of the Emma Bowen Foundation.[9][8] She attended Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.[8]
Duncan worked at production company Section Eight, founded by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh.[8] In 2005, she moved to New York City and worked for HBO, before moving to a role in production at AMC, which was in the early stages of building original series such as Breaking Bad.[8]
Duncan eventually left the cable industry to work with streaming services.[8] At Amazon Prime Video, she produced the pilot for Bosch, its first original drama series.[8]
In 2014, Duncan started working at Netflix as one of its first creative executives.[1] At Netflix, she oversaw the production of Orange Is the New Black and Narcos.[8] She left in 2018 to take a personal sabbatical and traveled the world for a year and a half.[4][1]
In 2020, Duncan joined Disney General Entertainment as president of Freeform.[9] She launched Cruel Summer,[1] as well as Single Drunk Female, the cable network's two most-watched original series.[10] Freeform has also launched its first animated series, Praise Petey.[11] Keep This Between Us has had the network's highest unscripted debut.[11]
After launching the Onyx Collective for Disney in 2021,[12] Duncan oversaw the creation of its first title, Summer of Soul, produced by Questlove, which won the 2022 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.[1] Onyx has also added The Hair Tales, Unprisoned, and The Plot,[1] as well as the critically acclaimed Reasonable Doubt, produced by Kerry Washington.[10] In 2023, Onyx released the The 1619 Project docuseries.[9]
Another project that Duncan has worked on for Hulu is The Other Black Girl, an adaptation of the 2021 novel by Zakiya Daila Harris, which Duncan executive produced.[13] Duncan also serves as an executive producer on Under the Bridge.[14]