Amy Entelis
- Producer
- Director
- Executive
Amy Entelis serves as the executive vice president for talent and content development for CNN Worldwide.
Entelis is responsible for the development, production, and acquisition of original, long-form premium content for CNN Worldwide. Since joining CNN in 2012, she has overseen and executive produced more than 45 multi-part documentary series and 60 feature-length documentary films, earning more than 110 awards and 445 nominations for the cable network, including CNN's first Academy Award® for Navalny. Entelis also is the senior talent executive at CNN Worldwide, responsible for the recruitment and development of all on-air talent for CNN programming and platforms. Under her leadership, CNN launched CNN Originals for the network's global platforms, which includes the following premium content brands: CNN Original Series, for which Entelis and her team develop nonfiction programming; CNN Films, for which Entelis produces and acquires documentary films for festival, theatrical, broadcast, and streaming distribution; and CNN Presents, for which Entelis acquires encore runs of notable unscripted series and films for broadcast on CNN. Entelis' film and series work can be seen on CNN and CNN apps and on the CNN Originals hub on discovery+ and Max.
Over the last decade, Entelis and her team have built the CNN Original Series brand, bringing to audiences twelve seasons of the 13-time Primetime Emmy® Award-winning ANTHONY BOURDAIN PARTS UNKNOWN, produced by Zero Point Zero Production, which won Primetime Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Informational Series in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018 as well as a Peabody Award for excellence and meritorious work. Entelis' series content team developed and executive produced the two-time Emmy® Award-winning STANLEY TUCCI: SEARCHING FOR ITALY, which received consecutive Primetime Emmy® Awards in 2021 and 2022 for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Program, and the five-time Primetime Emmy® Award-winning UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA WITH W. KAMAU BELL, which received back-to-back Primetime Emmy® Awards in 2017, 2018 and 2019 for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program. To date, CNN Original Series has earned a total of 21 Emmy® Awards.
Developed under Entelis' leadership for CNN Original Series are: EVA LONGORIA: SEARCHING FOR MEXICO; THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING; the Primetime Emmy® Award-nominated "Decades Series": THE SIXTIES, THE SEVENTIES, THE EIGHTIES, THE NINETIES, THE 2000s, and the forthcoming THE 2010s, executive produced by Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, and Mark Herzog; REFRAMED: MARILYN MONROE, narrated by Jessica Chastain; FIRST LADIES; THE HISTORY OF COMEDY, executive produced by Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, Mark Herzog, and Christopher Cowen; LINCOLN: DIVIDED WE STAND, narrated by Sterling K Brown; DIANA; RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE, narrated by Mahershala Ali; SOUNDTRACKS: SONGS THAT MADE HISTORY, executive produced by Dwayne Johnson; AMERICAN DYNASTIES: THE KENNEDYS; THE WINDSORS: INSIDE THE ROYAL DYNASTY; JERUSALEM: CITY OF FAITH AND FURY, narrated by Ewan McGregor; THE RADICAL STORY OF PATTY HEARST; CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: SEX & LOVE AROUND THE WORLD; CHICAGOLAND and DEATH ROW STORIES, with executive producer Robert Redford's Sundance Productions; THE HUNT WITH JOHN WALSH; FINDING JESUS: FAITH. FACT. FORGERY; DECLASSIFIED: UNTOLD STORIES OF AMERICAN SPIES, hosted by former Congressman Mike Rogers; and THE WONDER LIST WITH BILL WEIR.
During her tenure, Entelis extended the original series franchise to CNN sister network, HLN and launched scores of HLN Original Series dedicated to true crime, mysteries, and investigations. Select titles include FORENSIC FILES II, long considered the gold-standard of crime & justice non-fiction programming, VERY SCARY PEOPLE, and HOW IT REALLY HAPPENED.
In 2023, Entelis developed and launched the Sunday primetime weekly series, THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER. Hosted by Cooper, The Whole Story showcases character-driven stories, special interviews, profiles, and investigative deep dives featuring reporting from CNN's anchors and correspondents.
For CNN Films, Entelis has acquired, commissioned, or executive produced more than 60 feature and short films, 40% of which were directed by female filmmakers. Recent titles include the Oscar®, BAFTA, PGA, and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, NAVALNY, directed by Daniel Roher; LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING, directed by Lisa Cortés, which world premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival where it was acquired for theatrical distribution by Magnolia Pictures; THE LAST MOVIE STARS, directed by Ethan Hawke about the lives and careers of actors and humanitarians Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; GABBY GIFFORDS WON'T BACK DOWN, directed by Emmy® Award winners Julie Cohen and Betsy West; ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN, directed by Academy Award® winner Morgan Neville; The Emmy® award-winning DREAMLAND: THE BURNING OF BLACK WALL STREET, directed by Salima Koroma; THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS, directed by Tim Wardle, nominated for an Emmy® Award and a BAFTA; JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE, directed by Dawn Porter; LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE, which won Best Music Film at the 63rd Annual Grammy® Awards; the Emmy® and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, RBG, which was also nominated for an Academy Award® and a BAFTA; and APOLLO 11, directed by Todd Douglas Miller and nominated for fiveEmmy® Awards.
As the head of talent development for CNN Worldwide, Entelis continues to shape a renaissance at CNN, overseeing the hiring of scores of television journalists, contributors, and commentators.
Entelis began her career in television journalism at ABC News, initially as a producer on the weekly news magazine 20/20, and later a producer for World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. During her 30-year tenure, Entelis worked in various roles of increasing responsibility, ultimately serving as senior vice president for talent strategy, development, and research. ABC News President Roone Arledge recruited Entelis for her first management role with a mandate to diversify the network, bringing in many female reporters and journalists of color for on-air positions. Entelis then pioneered the first system in network news that coordinated the identification, recruitment, and development of all on-air talent. Over several decades, she recruited and managed talent for the network's most high-profile news programs including Good Morning America, World News Tonight, Nightline, and 20/20. While at ABC News, Entelis received several journalism honors, including a National News Emmy®, a duPont-Columbia Award, a Planned Parenthood Media Excellence Award, the Headliner Awards from the Association for Women in Communications, and a Front Page Award from the Newswomen's Club of New York for Distinguished Journalism.
A graduate of Vassar College, Entelis received a Master of Science degree in journalism from Columbia University. She serves as member of the Board of Visitors for the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Entelis is responsible for the development, production, and acquisition of original, long-form premium content for CNN Worldwide. Since joining CNN in 2012, she has overseen and executive produced more than 45 multi-part documentary series and 60 feature-length documentary films, earning more than 110 awards and 445 nominations for the cable network, including CNN's first Academy Award® for Navalny. Entelis also is the senior talent executive at CNN Worldwide, responsible for the recruitment and development of all on-air talent for CNN programming and platforms. Under her leadership, CNN launched CNN Originals for the network's global platforms, which includes the following premium content brands: CNN Original Series, for which Entelis and her team develop nonfiction programming; CNN Films, for which Entelis produces and acquires documentary films for festival, theatrical, broadcast, and streaming distribution; and CNN Presents, for which Entelis acquires encore runs of notable unscripted series and films for broadcast on CNN. Entelis' film and series work can be seen on CNN and CNN apps and on the CNN Originals hub on discovery+ and Max.
Over the last decade, Entelis and her team have built the CNN Original Series brand, bringing to audiences twelve seasons of the 13-time Primetime Emmy® Award-winning ANTHONY BOURDAIN PARTS UNKNOWN, produced by Zero Point Zero Production, which won Primetime Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Informational Series in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018 as well as a Peabody Award for excellence and meritorious work. Entelis' series content team developed and executive produced the two-time Emmy® Award-winning STANLEY TUCCI: SEARCHING FOR ITALY, which received consecutive Primetime Emmy® Awards in 2021 and 2022 for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Program, and the five-time Primetime Emmy® Award-winning UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA WITH W. KAMAU BELL, which received back-to-back Primetime Emmy® Awards in 2017, 2018 and 2019 for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program. To date, CNN Original Series has earned a total of 21 Emmy® Awards.
Developed under Entelis' leadership for CNN Original Series are: EVA LONGORIA: SEARCHING FOR MEXICO; THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING; the Primetime Emmy® Award-nominated "Decades Series": THE SIXTIES, THE SEVENTIES, THE EIGHTIES, THE NINETIES, THE 2000s, and the forthcoming THE 2010s, executive produced by Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, and Mark Herzog; REFRAMED: MARILYN MONROE, narrated by Jessica Chastain; FIRST LADIES; THE HISTORY OF COMEDY, executive produced by Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, Mark Herzog, and Christopher Cowen; LINCOLN: DIVIDED WE STAND, narrated by Sterling K Brown; DIANA; RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE, narrated by Mahershala Ali; SOUNDTRACKS: SONGS THAT MADE HISTORY, executive produced by Dwayne Johnson; AMERICAN DYNASTIES: THE KENNEDYS; THE WINDSORS: INSIDE THE ROYAL DYNASTY; JERUSALEM: CITY OF FAITH AND FURY, narrated by Ewan McGregor; THE RADICAL STORY OF PATTY HEARST; CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: SEX & LOVE AROUND THE WORLD; CHICAGOLAND and DEATH ROW STORIES, with executive producer Robert Redford's Sundance Productions; THE HUNT WITH JOHN WALSH; FINDING JESUS: FAITH. FACT. FORGERY; DECLASSIFIED: UNTOLD STORIES OF AMERICAN SPIES, hosted by former Congressman Mike Rogers; and THE WONDER LIST WITH BILL WEIR.
During her tenure, Entelis extended the original series franchise to CNN sister network, HLN and launched scores of HLN Original Series dedicated to true crime, mysteries, and investigations. Select titles include FORENSIC FILES II, long considered the gold-standard of crime & justice non-fiction programming, VERY SCARY PEOPLE, and HOW IT REALLY HAPPENED.
In 2023, Entelis developed and launched the Sunday primetime weekly series, THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER. Hosted by Cooper, The Whole Story showcases character-driven stories, special interviews, profiles, and investigative deep dives featuring reporting from CNN's anchors and correspondents.
For CNN Films, Entelis has acquired, commissioned, or executive produced more than 60 feature and short films, 40% of which were directed by female filmmakers. Recent titles include the Oscar®, BAFTA, PGA, and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, NAVALNY, directed by Daniel Roher; LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING, directed by Lisa Cortés, which world premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival where it was acquired for theatrical distribution by Magnolia Pictures; THE LAST MOVIE STARS, directed by Ethan Hawke about the lives and careers of actors and humanitarians Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; GABBY GIFFORDS WON'T BACK DOWN, directed by Emmy® Award winners Julie Cohen and Betsy West; ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN, directed by Academy Award® winner Morgan Neville; The Emmy® award-winning DREAMLAND: THE BURNING OF BLACK WALL STREET, directed by Salima Koroma; THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS, directed by Tim Wardle, nominated for an Emmy® Award and a BAFTA; JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE, directed by Dawn Porter; LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE, which won Best Music Film at the 63rd Annual Grammy® Awards; the Emmy® and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, RBG, which was also nominated for an Academy Award® and a BAFTA; and APOLLO 11, directed by Todd Douglas Miller and nominated for fiveEmmy® Awards.
As the head of talent development for CNN Worldwide, Entelis continues to shape a renaissance at CNN, overseeing the hiring of scores of television journalists, contributors, and commentators.
Entelis began her career in television journalism at ABC News, initially as a producer on the weekly news magazine 20/20, and later a producer for World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. During her 30-year tenure, Entelis worked in various roles of increasing responsibility, ultimately serving as senior vice president for talent strategy, development, and research. ABC News President Roone Arledge recruited Entelis for her first management role with a mandate to diversify the network, bringing in many female reporters and journalists of color for on-air positions. Entelis then pioneered the first system in network news that coordinated the identification, recruitment, and development of all on-air talent. Over several decades, she recruited and managed talent for the network's most high-profile news programs including Good Morning America, World News Tonight, Nightline, and 20/20. While at ABC News, Entelis received several journalism honors, including a National News Emmy®, a duPont-Columbia Award, a Planned Parenthood Media Excellence Award, the Headliner Awards from the Association for Women in Communications, and a Front Page Award from the Newswomen's Club of New York for Distinguished Journalism.
A graduate of Vassar College, Entelis received a Master of Science degree in journalism from Columbia University. She serves as member of the Board of Visitors for the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
