The New York Times names new deputy director of development for Shows

Allison Benedikt

For the past few months, we’ve been talking about the new Shows development team and the process we’re building to pilot, develop and launch the next generation of Times shows. None of that will be possible without a strong, creative leadership team, so I’m thrilled to share that Allison Benedikt is coming on as deputy director of development.

Allison has most recently been leading “The Interview,” one of the pillars of our existing Shows department. So it’s probably evident why we’re so excited to have her help lead this next chapter. Since “The Interview” launched in April 2024, Allison — along with co-hosts Lulu Garcia-Navarro and David Marchese and a talented team — has built it into the definitive interview show of the moment: newsy, singular, rigorous, intimate, unpredictable.

She was there from the start, shaping the show’s identity and introducing its two hosts to a new audience. As the media landscape shifted, Allison led “The Interview” from a must-listen podcast into an equally must-watch video show — partnering with Brooke Minters to transition to video-first production, the first podcast in our newsroom to do it. That has created a template for reaching people everywhere: riveting audio on the Daily feed, a beautifully designed home page story, a stand-out YouTube watch, a tantalizing social clip.

“Allison’s leadership has been pivotal in building ‘The Interview’ into a successful franchise,” said Jake Silverstein. “Her vision, editorial instincts and problem-solving have guided the show’s ascent these past two years. She knows how to elevate a team, and I know she’ll bring that same capacity to developing other shows.”

Allison will work closely with me, Sam Dolnick, and Brooke to stand up this team: setting development priorities, generating and assessing new show ideas and bringing the best of them to life. 

“‘The Interview’ has become appointment viewing for vast numbers of people and everyone knows that Allison led the charge in building this show from the ground up, week in and week out,” said Sam. “I’m so excited to see what else she has up her sleeve.”

I’ve long respected Allison’s editorial instincts, confident leadership, and candid assessments. I’m delighted she’ll be helping chart this next chapter. She’s already a valued thought partner of mine, and she’ll come on board fully once “The Interview” has found its next executive producer. The search is underway — what a great job! 

We’ll share more soon about other roles on the development leadership team.