CBS Studios Announces BIPOC Casting Fellowship, Sets Second Cohort for Leadership Pipeline Challenge

variety.com:

Angelique Jackson CBS Studios has set in motion two initiatives focused on providing a diverse range of emerging creators with opportunities in filmmaking and casting.First, CBS Studios has announced a new casting fellowship targeted toward BIPOC representation.

Developed to address the diversity gap in the casting industry, the 10-week program allows fellows to have a fully immersive, hands-on experience working in a casting office, along with mentorship from the studio’s casting executives.The studio has also set its second cohort for the CBS Leadership Pipeline Challenge, which arms 35 early-career storytellers with $5,000 budgets to make mission-inspired short films.“We always strive to create opportunities for prospective executives… In only its second year, this inclusive program is helping us grow an even more vibrant and motivated studio team,” CBS Studios President David Stapf said of the initiatives conceived by casting executives Lori Erickson and Rob Decina. “We are very proud of them and proud for CBS Studios to be home to an initiative that will surely help advance the next generation of writers, producers and casting executives,” Stapf added.Likewise, Meg Liberman, CBS Studios’ EVP of talent and casting, noted the casting fellowship’s aim to address the lack of BIPOC casting talent within the industry as a whole.“CBS Studios is committed to diversity and inclusion both in front of and behind the camera,” she stated. “This program will nurture future casting professionals through hands-on experience, mentorship and networking opportunities.”Erickson, who serves as vice president of casting at CBS Studios, similarly reflected on the legacy of the pipeline program.“When the world feels rather bleak, it fills.