Nowadays, in an audiovisual universe where you can choose whether to watch series like True Detective and Bridgerton or films like Oppenheimer or Challengers , how and when you want, it is worth highlighting the role of their second directors, their producers, on the eve of the 2024 Emmys . This figure in the film team may not be as well known as the figure of the director, such as Christopher Nolan or Luca Guadagnino , however, it is essential when it comes to supervising a project of such media impact, and if not, just ask Margot Robbie in Barbie .
This year’s list of the top twenty highest-paid producers includes names we’ve heard of in the credits, such as South Park ‘s Matt Stone and Trey Parker, and The Simpsons ‘ James L. Brooks and Matt Groening . The list is overwhelmingly made up of men. Only three women have made it into this elite. Three women, not enough but still relevant , are the beacons of inspiration for a female generation that is making its way, film after film, in what seems to be a minimally more egalitarian industry.
Highly talked about and iconic series and films are some of the projects that these women have managed in their hands, minds and pockets. And what less, than to honor them by writing their name once again, not in credits, on the list of the highest paid female producers in 2024 .
Shonda Rhimes / $58 million ($68 million gross)
Netflix’s Victorian love story of the Bridgertons could not be left out of this list, and even less so its producer Shonda Rhimes (Chicago, USA, 54 years old) who occupies the number seven position on the overall list thanks to the fourth season of the quintessential period drama of recent years. Its audience record meant a quite satisfactory agreement with the platform, structured in bonuses and incentives in response to the great success of the love story between Colin and Penelope.
The career of the producer and screenwriter who reigns in the industry behind the cameras is characterized by her female characters that live in the memory of all her audience. Shondaland is the production factory from which transcendental characters such as those of the series Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder have emerged . All these hits have made her net worth estimated at 240 million dollars.
Lisa Joy / $21 million ($25 million gross)
Alongside her partner and husband Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy (New Jersey, USA, 47 years old) is ranked 17th on the list. Who says that love and work are not compatible? The successes of Westworld and Amazon ‘s Fallout say otherwise. In the former, she closed a $30 million annual contract that ended in April, and although the renewal was lower, it has not prevented her name from appearing among the highest-paid producers of 2024. Both continue to collaborate with the platform on several key projects, including Fallout .
Tina Fey / $19 million ($25 million gross)
Much like her character Miss Norbury in the iconic 2004 film Mean Girls , where she utters the line “I am a pusher,” Tina Fey (Pennsylvania, USA, 54) proves to be the “fetchest” producer in real life too, ranking twentieth on this list of wealthy individuals. The SNL alum and 30 Rock producer executive produced the musical comedy series Girls5Eva (now in its second life, and third season, on Netflix), as well as the animated apocalyptic series Mulligan . In addition, last year she brought to the big screen the musical adaptation of Mean Girls , a film of which she is the godmother, twenty years after the original.
She also continues to star in films, including the Agatha Christie mystery A Haunting in Venice last fall. All of these projects have led to her net worth of $275 million.
