When you look at the slate of programs Tara Duncan has been responsible for over the course of her career, you understand why she considers the best piece of advice she’s ever received to be, “Focus on what you like.”
Those words were spoken to Duncan when she was an assistant building a name for herself in television. The Southern California native is now the President of Freeform and Onyx Collective, and the successes of some of her earliest ventures since she joined Disney General Entertainment in 2020 demonstrate how true that sentiment still rings. Duncan oversaw the cable network’s biggest series debut with the launch of Cruel Summer in 2021—the same year Onyx Collective was launched, with the specific goal of providing a platform for creators of color and underrepresented communities. One year later, at the 94th Academy Awards, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for Summer of Soul, which streamed on Hulu, the main hub for Onyx content.
Having since added the legal drama Reasonable Doubt, the docuseries The Hair Tales and The 1619 Project to Onyx Collective’s program offerings, Duncan is proving narratives that center Black experiences are a sure bet in an industry where many still consider them a gamble. The former Netflix executive, who oversaw such hit series as Orange Is the New Black and Narcos, now says of her ability to pick a winning story, “The secret is there is no secret. I am very fortunate that I’ve been able to trust my instincts and not be too worried about the outcome. If there’s something that really connects with me emotionally and feels like it’s honest, I follow that feeling, and so far, it’s been working.”
Another power move? Duncan’s not afraid to take a loss, in the unlikely event that her gut proves wrong. “If we’re going to fail,” she says, “then…
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