Roger Ailes Taps Television Veteran Bill Geddie to Executive-Produce Special
FOX News Channel’s (FNC) Megyn Kelly will launch her first primetime special on Fox Broadcasting (FOX) Monday, May 23 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), announced Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO of FOX News, and Executive in Charge of Production, and Gary Newman and Dana Walden, Chairmen and CEOs of the Fox Television Group. Broadcast television veteran Bill Geddie will serve as executive producer of the special, which will be produced by his company, May Avenue Productions.
The one-hour special will feature a variety of celebrity interviews from the world of politics, entertainment and other areas of human interest. Showcasing Kelly’s renowned journalism skills, as well as her personality and quick wit, this up-to-the minute hour will also be personal in nature and address the year Kelly has had as one of the most prominent voices covering the 2016 presidential campaign.
Kelly serves as the anchor of The Kelly File (weekdays, 9:00-10:00 PM/ET) on FNC, the second most-watched program in cable news, averaging 2.5 million viewers. She has landed some of the most coveted interviews in the television news business for the nearly three-year-old program, including the Duggar family, Bill Ayers, Charles Koch and Michael Moore. Kelly joined FNC as a Washington-based general assignment reporter in 2004, and was soon covering the Supreme Court for the network. She later moved to New York upon being promoted to co-anchor of the weekday morning program, America’s Newsroom, alongside Bill Hemmer. In 2010, she was promoted again to anchor her own two-hour afternoon program, America Live with Megyn Kelly.
During the current election cycle, Kelly has co-moderated each of the network’s three Republican presidential primary debates, alongside Bret Baier and Chris Wallace. The first debate on August 6, 2015, delivered 24 million viewers, making it the highest-rated non-sports cable telecast of all time. The most recent debate, held on March 3, shattered all previous debate records in 2016 with nearly 17 million viewers. Additionally, Kelly has co-anchored all of the recent major primary and caucus races, setting the record for the most-watched primary night ever on Super Tuesday with nearly five million viewers. She notably co-anchored the 2012 presidential election, as well as the 2014 midterm election.
Before joining FNC, Kelly served as a general assignment reporter for WJLA-TV (ABC) in Washington, D.C., where she covered national and local stories of interest. Prior to her career in television news, Kelly practiced law as a corporate litigator at Jones Day and was an associate in the Chicago office of the law firm Bickel & Brewer LLP. She received her B.A. in political science from Syracuse University and a J.D. from Albany Law School, where she graduated with honors and served as editor of the Albany Law Review.
Prior to starting his own production company, Bill Geddie was executive producer of The View, along with Barbara Walters, for 17 years. He began producing The Barbara Walters Specials in 1988, as well as The 10 Most Fascinating People, which he co-wrote, directed and helped launch. During his career, he has produced over 100 primetime specials and nearly 4,000 episodes of The View. He is the recipient of four Emmy Awards, from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
About Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX), a unit of 21st Century Fox, is home to some of the highest-rated and most acclaimed series on television, including EMPIRE, GOTHAM, THE X-FILES, THE LAST MAN ON EARTH, SCREAM QUEENS, ROSEWOOD, AMERICAN IDOL, NEW GIRL, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, GRANDFATHERED, THE GRINDER, BOB’S BURGERS, THE SIMPSONS, FAMILY GUY, LUCIFER and SLEEPY HOLLOW. FOX airs 15 hours of primetime programming a week, as well as major sports and Sunday morning news. Through the FOX NOW app, FOX viewers can watch full episodes of their favorite FOX shows on a variety of digital platforms, while enjoying enhanced interactive and social capabilities around those shows. Download the FOX NOW app at www.fox.com/foxnow. “Like” FOX on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FOXTV and follow the network on Twitter @FOXTV. For additional information about FOX, please visit www.fox.com.
Follow Megyn Kelly on Twitter @MegynKelly and “like” her FOX News program The Kelly File on Facebook.com/TheKellyFile.
###