Chris Albrecht

In his over two-hour interview, Chris Albrecht talks about his early life and stand-up comedy career, and explains how he became manager of The Improv in New York City. He recalls making the transition to agent at ICM in Los Angeles, and he speaks of his many clients at the agency. He discusses moving over to HBO in the programming department and subsequently being promoted to head of HBO Independent Productions where he oversaw Roc, The Ben Stiller Show, and Everybody Loves Raymond. Albrecht outlines his ascension to president of original programming and later to CEO of HBO, where he programmed the classic shows Oz, The Sopranos, The Wire, Real Time with Bill Maher, Entourage, Six Feet Under, and Da Ali G Show. He talks about his legacy at HBO and his then-current position as CEO of Starz, and offers his advice to aspiring television executives. Stephen J. Abramson conducted the interview on October 7, 2013 in Beverly Hills, CA.