There’s a new senior player in TV’s true-crime industry.
Paul Ryan has been named executive producer of NBC News‘ “Dateline,’ reporting to Liz Cole, who became the long-running newsmagazine’s senior executive producer last year. Both elevations come after David Corvo, the NBC News executive who had long overseen the series, moved to tackle consulting duties.
Ryan has been with show for several years, and was most recently its senior producer and creative director, managing all aspects of the editorial and production process. But he will now be tasked with other duties, particularly finding ways to keep “Dateline,” with its long run of murder mysteries and occasional big “gets” by NBC News correspondents, more arresting than ever.
Like its main counterparts, CBS News’ “48 Hours” and ABC News’ “20/20,” the “Dateline” franchise extends well beyond its TV perch. NBC sells the show into syndication, and “Dateline” stories also fuel podcasts, a streaming channel on Peacock, and, once in a while, a special project such as the NBC scripted miniseries, “The Thing about Pam.”
Ryan has supervised oversaw multiple “Dateline” investigations, including recent coverage of the Alex Murdaugh trial and the University of Idaho student murders. He joined NBC News in 2011, and has worked as a senior producer for numerous NBC News specials, including reports on criminal justice reform, immigration and the homeless epidemic. He is also the executive producer for NBCUniversal News Group’s annual “Inspiring America” special, which celebrates 10 individuals who have made a positive impact on the world.. He began his television career in 1994 at Sports Illustrated Television, later joining CBS News. At CBS, he produced a variety of projects before joining “48 Hours”, where he worked for over a decade and served as the senior broadcast producer.
Ryan hold a Master of Arts degree from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pace University.
