Person of the Week is hosted by TIME Senior Correspondent Charlotte Alter and Produced by TIME Studios in Partnership with Sugar23
Ethan Hawke, Maxwell Frost, Elliot Page, Whitney Wolfe Herd, and James Ijames Among First Slate of Guests to Join the Podcast
NEW YORK, NY, June 15, 2023 – Today, TIME debuted Person of the Week, a weekly podcast featuring candid conversations with the people who are shaping the world, hosted by TIME Senior Correspondent Charlotte Alter. The podcast is produced by the Emmy-award winning TIME Studios in partnership with Sugar23, the management and creative platform from Oscar-winner Michael Sugar.
For 100 years, TIME has told the stories of the people who shape, challenge, and inspire the world. An extension of that mission, Person of the Week is also inspired by TIME’s globally-renowned Person of the Year franchise, which recognizes the person or group of people who had the greatest influence on the events of the year. TIME editors have selected a Person of the Year annually since 1927.
Charlotte Alter’s interviews with newsmakers across industries will highlight the trends, ideas, and personalities driving the news, shedding light on the way our world works.
“Every story has a human behind it, and every public reckoning is also a personal one. So every week, I’ll talk to a fascinating person who can help us understand the moment we’re in, from politicians to CEOs to movie stars and more,” said Alter. “After nearly ten years at TIME, 15 cover stories, and four national elections, I’m so excited to dive into audio journalism with the Person of the Week podcast.”
TIME’s Person of the Week is launching with a premiere episode featuring actor Ethan Hawke. Upcoming guests include Congressman Maxwell Frost, actor and author Elliot Page, Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright James Ijames. The first episode of TIME’s Person of the Week podcast is available to listen to on TIME.com and all podcast apps.
Person of the Week is TIME Studios’ first original podcast under the direction of Sachar Mathias who joined TIME Studios as Head of Audio last year from Pushkin Industries, where she led the Society & Culture department and developed and launched a slate of audio projects.
“TIME has been delivering impactful stories for over a century now, and launching our first original podcast is an exhilarating new chapter in that storied history. This isn’t just about embracing a new medium, it’s about bringing our passion for storytelling to life in a format that offers a unique, intimate connection with our readers and draws a new, listening audience to TIME,” said Mathias. “I’m thrilled to be collaborating with TIME’s phenomenal editorial staff on this journey – their dedication, experience, and journalistic integrity are what make our conversations truly stand out.”
“We’re excited to bring TIME’s storytelling to audio and expand our relationship with Sugar23 to provide audiences with meaningful and impactful content across all platforms,” said Co-Heads of TIME Studios, Mike Beck and Alexa Conway.
Mike Mayer, Head of Audio for Sugar23, developed Person of the Week with TIME and oversees production alongside Sachar Mathias. Person of the Week is the latest joint project to come from TIME Studios’ partnership with Sugar23. The pair also recently partnered with Trevor Noah’s Day Zero Productions to produce The Turning Point, a documentary series that tackles the big issues of the era — from voting rights to civil rights, human rights to climate change, to the fight for American democracy on MSNBC.
“Person of the Week features conversations with the people who shape every facet of our lives. One of the joys of working with TIME is the brand’s relentless curiosity about our world and how to make sense of it. Charlotte Alter has proven herself as a Senior Correspondent at TIME, and uniquely she brings journalistic insight, keen analysis, and warmth and openness to each and every conversation,” said Michael Sugar.
As TIME’s fastest growing business, TIME Studios continues to raise the bar as the Emmy Award®-winning television, film, audio, and immersive division for the legacy media company through the development of numerous projects that have been sold to streaming services and distributors including Netflix, Amazon, Paramount+, HBO, Showtime, Nickelodeon, ABC, CNN Films and more. Recent projects include MSNBC docuseries When Truth Isn’t Truth: The Rudy Giuliani Story (2023), and an upcoming scripted television series based on the history of the New York culinary and cultural icon, Russ & Daughters.
Listen to Person of the Week here: https://time.com/collection/person-of-the-week-podcast/
About TIME
TIME is the 100-year-old global media brand that reaches a combined audience of over 105 million around the world through its iconic magazine and digital platforms. With unparalleled access to the world’s most influential people, the trust of consumers and partners globally, and an unrivaled power to convene, TIME’s mission is to tell the essential stories of the people and ideas that shape and improve the world. Today, TIME also includes the Emmy Award®-winning film and television division TIME Studios, a significantly expanded live events business built on the powerful TIME100 and Person of the Year franchises, an industry-leading web3 division, an award-winning branded content studio, the website-building platform TIME Sites, the sustainability and climate action platform TIME CO2, the new e-commerce and content platform TIME Stamped, and more.
About TIME Studios
From one of the most globally iconic brands, TIME Studios is an Emmy Award®-winning television, film, audio, and immersive studio focusing on the development, production and distribution of truth-based premium unscripted and scripted storytelling that moves the world. With technical innovation and a brand defining visual language that dates back 100 years, TIME Studios aims to impact communities and the world at large with ideas that forge true progress. Combining the industry’s leading creators with TIME, one of the most trusted brands that reaches an audience of over 105 million people globally, TIME Studios is uniquely positioned to bring massive audiences to the world’s most impactful stories. Recent projects include: Jeen-Yuhs (Netflix), Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space (Netflix), Katrina Babies (HBO), Black Gold (Paramount+), Big Vape (Netflix), John Lewis: Good Trouble (CNN Films), Amazing Grace (Neon), Right to Offend (A&E), Ricky Powell: The Individualist (Showtime), The YouTube Effect, Kid of the Year (Nickelodeon/CBS), TIME100 (ABC) and the first scripted project for TIME Studios, Women of the Year (Amazon).
About Sugar23
Founded in 2017 by Academy Award®-winning manager-producer Michael Sugar, Sugar23, Inc. is a multimedia production and talent management organization with a mission to impact culture through entertainment. With world-class entertainment executives in scripted & unscripted TV, film and podcasts, Sugar23 creates original, premium content for global distribution platforms.
Recently Sugar23 has partnered with brand marketers, leveraging the company’s producing expertise and resources for brands to participate in entertainment, earning higher audience engagement and financial return. The company works closely with leading brands around branded entertainment opportunities, including ABInbev, TIME, Procter & Gamble and others.
CEO Michael Sugar has shepherded award-winning projects such as “Spotlight,” “The Knick,” “The OA,” “Maniac,” “13 Reasons Why,” and “I Am the Night.” Sugar23 currently has “The Turning Point” airing on MSNBC, which was co-produced alongside TIME Studios, Trevor Noah’s Day Zero Productions, Mainstay and P&G Studios.
In addition to dozens of active film and television projects in development, Sugar23 works cross-media including an independent podcast studio in house, a book imprint in partnership with Penguin Random House, an animation studio through Mindshow, and an experiential activation arm through Blue Revolver.
Sugar23 has offices in Los Angeles, Nashville, New York and Washington D.C.
