Kevin E. Fortson
Kevin E. Fortson currently serves as senior vice president of production for Warner Horizon Television (WHTV), having been named to that post at the division’s founding in 2006.
One of the television industry’s fastest-growing companies, WHTV specializes in the creation and production of scripted series for the cable marketplace and primetime reality series for both network and cable. Kevin is responsible for all administrative and operational aspects of the corporate division and oversees all elements of physical production for the Warner Horizon’s series and pilots, including budgeting, scheduling and staffing. WHTV’s current scripted projects include: Netflix’s Fuller House and Longmire; the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) hit Queen Sugar; TNT’s Animal Kingdom; and People of Earth for TBS. Warner Horizon has also produced such past successful series as Pretty Little Liars, Rizzoli & Isles, and Dallas as well as pilots for multiple networks and streaming services, including Lifetime, A&E, TNT and Freeform, Netflix, Hulu, TV Land, and OWN. On WHTV’s non-scripted side, the mega-hit NBC series The Voice, the long-running ABC hit, The Bachelor and its sister properties The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, NBC’s Little Big Shots and an upcoming update of the classic relationship show Love Connection all fall under Kevin’s purview.
Prior to joining WHTV, Kevin served as senior vice president for studio operations at Warner Bros. Studio Facilities, a position to which he was named in 2004. In that capacity, he was charged with directing the operational activities for all in-house and independent television and feature film production on Warner Bros. Studios’ 110-acre lot and adjacent 32-acre ranch facility. This included scheduling for all 34 sound stages and numerous exterior sets as well as audience coordination, stage and back lot maintenance, and special projects.
Before working in operations, Kevin spent 12 years at Telepictures Productions, as senior vice president for production and administration, where he was responsible for overseeing the day-to-day production staffs for one of the industry’s most prolific producers of network, first-run syndicated and cable television series, including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, The Bachelor, and Extra. During his tenure, he supervised the design and construction of the company’s Glendale, California, production and post-production facility. The 45,000-square-foot complex houses two sound stages, 30 digital editing suites, a newsroom, and production office space. This facility serves as the headquarters for the daily entertainment news program Extra, and it has housed numerous other productions during its years of operation.
Prior to joining Telepictures Productions, Kevin was with Investigative News Group for five years, lastly serving as vice president/chief operating officer/chief financial officer and executive in charge of production, overseeing Geraldo, The Geraldo Rivera Specials, and Now It Can Be Told. He left Investigative News Group in May 1992 for a brief stint as vice president of development and production at Genesis Entertainment, overseeing The Whoopi Goldberg Show, among other programs. Prior to that, he held positions at Metromedia, Fox and Group W Productions, where he supervised various productions and served for two years as executive in charge of production on Hour Magazine.
Kevin attended UCLA and is a 1983 graduate of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, with a degree in specialized mass communication. He and his wife, Rikki, currently live in Calabasas, California, and are the parents of triplets Noah, Avery (Zel), and Khristian, all of whom are freshmen at various universities around the country.
