Netflix has added Sahara Bushue to its unscripted team, TheWrap can confirm.
Bushue had been consulting for the streaming giant since March. She will now join the company on a permanent basis on unscripted VP Brandon Riegg’s team. Her official title will be director of unscripted series.
Previously, Bushue worked as the senior vice president and head of unscripted for Westbrook Studios, the entertainment venture company founded by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. She was there for a little over two years when the company produced projects such as “Red Table Talk,” “Welcome to Earth,” “Amend: The Fight for America” and “Women of the Movement.”
Before that, Bushue was the senior vice president for alternative programming and development at NBC. Altogether, she was at the network for 13 years. Throughout her time at NBC, she’s worked on “America’s Got Talent,” “Ellen’s Game of Games,” “World of Dance,” “Little Big Shots” and “Hollywood Game Night.” She also worked on the MTV Video Music Awards and the BET Awards in 2010 and the Golden Globes in 2009.
Ever since Netflix became serious about producing its own original programming, unscripted has been an important branch of the company. In fact, Netflix’s first two unscripted series — “Chef’s Table” and “Making a Murderer” — made a splash when they were first released in 2015.
In its modern form, the unscripted branch of the streaming service has become even stronger for the streamer. Reality series like “Love Is Blind,” “Too Hot to Handle” and “The Circle” rank among its most popular shows as do true crime documentaries like “The Tinder Swindler” and “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal.” Celebrity-focused documentaries and docuseries have also become popular on the service, such as David and Victoria Beckham’s “Beckham,” Taylor Swift’s “Miss Americana,” Lady Gaga’s “Gaga: Five Foot Two” and Kanye West’s “Jeen-Yuhs.”
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