CBS has "cast" Claudia Lyon in the role of Executive Vice President of Talent and Casting, where she will oversee the network's primetime and daytime programming, which includes The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. As reported by Deadline, she succeeds CBS' longtime Head of Casting Peter Golden, who stepped down in May following several controversies relating to the network's corporate culture and diversity record.
Lyon previously worked for ABC Entertainment, where she has been Vice President of Talent and Casting since 2006. She has overseen casting for pilots and primetime series at ABC Studios and ABC Signature, including Grey's Anatomy, How to Get Away with Murder, Black-ish, Grown-ish, Ugly Betty, Modern Family, and Criminal Minds, among others. She was also involved in the casting department's domestic, global, and digital initiatives through ABC Discovers, which seeks to grow talent globally.
"Claudia's tremendous experience, impressive insight and obvious passion for the casting process made us stand up and take notice during this search process," says CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl in a statement. "She's highly respected across the industry, and we're excited to have her join the CBS team."
Prior to her time at Disney-ABC Television, Lyon served as vice president of casting and talent at the WB Network, overseeing the casting of primetime series like Dawson's Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Felicity, Gilmore Girls, Smallville, One Tree Hill, and Supernatural.
"Claudia has an extraordinary creative perspective and a keen eye for identifying talent, as shown by her impressive résumé," says Thom Sherman, CBS Entertainment senior executive VP. "We can't wait for her to get started."
Lyon has been honored by the Imagen Foundation as one of their Powerful and Influential Latinos in the Entertainment Industry on four separate occasions between 2013 and 2015, as well as in 2018.
As for ABC (which airs General Hospital), casting head Ayo Davis was promoted to Executive VP in June and will also assume oversight of the network's forthcoming streaming service Disney+.
What do you think about Claudia Lyon joining CBS? What kind of changes -- if any -- do you hope to see in Y&R and B&B's casting processes now that Lyon is in charge? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
