If you don’t know Alfano by name, you certainly know her work. HBO Max’s “Hacks” and Netflix’s “Never Have I Ever” are two of more than 70 series under her purview. But one of her most influential projects came earlier in her career: “Will and Grace,” the first broadcast series with two gay characters. “Nothing may ever top Joe Biden’s 2012 endorsement of gay marriage on ‘Meet the Press,’ when he credited ‘Will & Grace’—a show I helped develop and worked on to the end—with shifting the American public’s perspective and advancing the LGBTQ+ cause,” she says. Alfano built on that legacy this year by leading development on a reimagining of LGBTQ+ drama “Queer as Folk” for Peacock, which premiered in June.
How does your company encourage employees to bring their true selves to work? I’m fortunate to work for a company that places people at the top of its priorities. This is demonstrated daily through everything from providing healthcare benefits to same-sex couples to the type of content we bring to audiences to allowing me to be my authentic self. That kind of care and support makes it easy to enjoy my job.
Favorite media milestone moment in LGBTQ+ history? Nothing may ever top Joe Biden’s 2012 endorsement of gay marriage on “Meet the Press,” when he credited “Will & Grace”—a show I helped develop and worked on to the end—with shifting the American public’s perspective and advancing the LGBTQ+ cause.