Former NBCU Unscripted Chief Jenny Groom Joins BBC Studios As Ryan O’Dowd & Krystal Whitney Are Promoted

EXCLUSIVE: BBC Studios, the LA-based production behind series such as ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and NBC’s Weakest Link, is staffing up.

The company has hired former NBC unscripted chief Jenny Groom and promoted Ryan O’Dowd and Krystal Whitney.

Groom, who was EVP, Entertainment Unscripted Content, NBCUniversal, left the company in 2022 and has been consulting for companies including Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Productions. 

She now joins the commercial arm of the British public broadcaster as EVP, Unscripted Development.

Groom, who greenlit series including The Traitors and Love Island during her time at NBCU, previously oversaw all unscripted competition formats across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, E! and USA Network. Other shows she was involved in include Jimmy Fallon’s Password and That’s My Jam as well as BBC Studios’ own Weakest Link, which was rebooted with Jane Lynch.

She will report to Ryan O’Dowd, who has been promoted to President of Unscripted. O’Dowd was previously EVP, Entertainment and Music. He will continue to lead the Unscripted business in Los Angeles and will continue to report to Matt Forde, Managing Director of BBC Studios Global Entertainment. Prior to joining BBC Studios, O’Dowd served as VP of Development for Ryan Seacrest Productions,

The company, which is also behind Amazon and Fox’s The 1% Club and Netflix’s Outlast, has also promoted Krystal Whitney to EVP, Current Programming. She joined the company in 2020 and was previously SVP, Current Programming. She continues to report to O’Dowd.

Matt Forde, MD of Global Entertainment, BBC Studios, said, “We are delighted to be welcoming Jenny Groom to BBC Studios.  She has had an absolutely stellar career to date, and we know she will bring incredible drive and ambition to our unscripted business in the U.S. market.  Coupled with Ryan’s expertise at the helm and Krystal in her new role, the Los Angeles team is perfectly placed to build on the tremendous success already achieved. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what they deliver in the future.” 

Ryan O’Dowd, President of Unscripted, BBC Studios, added, “In what is a transformative time across the global entertainment landscape, it’s a true privilege to lead our growing Los Angeles unscripted business and to have this opportunity to work with such a brilliant team, who are the absolute best-in-class. Jenny has proven to be one of the most respected executives in the business, boasting an impressive track record building and leading some of the nation’s biggest unscripted hits across both broadcast and streaming.”

He added, “I’ve had the pleasure of working with her on multiple series, and she’s the perfect person to lead our U.S. development as we grow domestically and internationally. Krystal is a force of nature, and our success would not have been possible without her.  Her passion for the craft, relentless work ethic and unflappable demeanor have enabled her to win the trust, respect and admiration of our talent and network partners. We have exciting projects on the horizon, and I couldn’t imagine a better team to work with to bring these shows to life.”