Robert Sharenow

President of Programming

Lifetime

Rob Sharenow is Executive Vice President and General Manager of Lifetime. In his role, he is responsible for overseeing all strategic planning and activities for the network, including programming, marketing, publicity and brand development. He joined Lifetime in March 2011 as Executive Vice President of Programming and was promoted to Executive Vice President and General Manager in 2013.

Lifetime’s scripted programs include the hit series Devious Maids, its fastest-growing drama ever, from executive producers Marc Cherry and Eva Longoria; Witches of East End, starring Julia Ormond, Mädchen Amick, Jenna Dewan Tatum and Rachel Boston; as well as the critically-acclaimed comedic drama Drop Dead Diva. Upcoming series include Marti Noxon’s dark comedy Un-Real, which gives a behind-the-scenes look at the chaos surrounding the production of a dating competition program; and the conspiracy thriller The Lottery.

In the midst of tripling the amount of its unscripted programming, Lifetime’s reality slate includes, the Emmy® Award-nominated series Project Runway, the hit docusoap Dance Moms, True Tori, Preachers’ Daughters, and the network’s latest hit, Bring It!, which just ended its freshman season with a 128% gain in total viewers from its premiere.

A longtime leader in longform, Lifetime is ad-supported cable’s number one destination for original movies. The films Flowers in the Attic, Lizzie Borden Took an Ax and The Gabby Douglas Story are 2014’s top movie telecasts across ad-supported cable, while the 2013 world premiere of the major miniseries event Bonnie & Clyde, starring Emile Hirsch, Holliday Grainger, Holly Hunter and William Hurt, delivered 8.6 million viewers across Lifetime, History and A&E. The 2012 premiere of Steel Magnolias, with Queen Latifah, Phylicia Rashad, Jill Scott and Emmy nominee Alfre Woodard, averaged 6.5 million Total Viewers, becoming the network’s third most-watched original telecast ever. Other high-profile films launched under Sharenow’s watch include the Emmy nominated Ring of Fire, SAG Awards® nominated Betty & Coretta, Anna Nicole, Prosecuting Casey Anthony, Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret, Call Me Crazy: A Five Film and Drew Peterson: Untouchable. Sharenow also is leading the network’s expansion into features with Lifetime Films, including The Last of Robin Hood, starring Kevin Kline, Dakota Fanning, Susan Sarandon; and Lila and Eve, featuring Jennifer Lopez and Viola Davis.

Prior to joining Lifetime, Sharenow was Senior Vice President of Non-Fiction & Alternative Programming at A&E Network, where he was responsible for supervising the development and creation of all of A&E’s non-fiction programming, including its signature real-life series, justice franchises, critically-acclaimed documentary series, A&E IndieFilms, lifestyle programming and marquee specials. He also oversaw original program development for the Bio Channel.

During his tenure at A&E, he developed and/or served as executive producer on several critically-acclaimed and hit real life series, including Intervention, Storage Wars, Hoarders, Beyond Scared Straight, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Criss Angel Mindfreak, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, The First 48, Manhunters and Growing Up Gotti. For the Bio Channel, he was responsible for developing Shatner’s Raw Nerve, I Survived and Celebrity Ghost Stories, the highest rated original series in the network’s history. Under his leadership, A&E IndieFilms produced and released several theatrical documentary features, including The September Issue, The Tillman Story and Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer.

Before joining A&E, Sharenow served as Executive Producer of History’s award-winning weekly series, This Week in History. While there, he also co-created and launched the series, Extreme History, with Roger Daltrey. In addition, he served as Senior Producer of a special commemorating the anniversary of 9/11, Relics from the Rubble. His other television writing credits include Michael Moore’s Emmy Award-winning TV Nation and the Emmy-winning children’s series Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? His first novel, My Mother the Cheerleader, was named one of the “Best Books of the Year” by the American Library Association, School Library Journal and the New York Public Library. His second novel, The Berlin Boxing Club, won the Sydney Taylor Book Award and was a finalist for the Walden Award. He is currently working on his third book for HarperCollins.

Sharenow is a graduate of Brandeis University. He received his Masters degree from New York University, where he held a fellowship in the American Studies department.

Speaking at: Taking the Plunge, Crossing the Pond