“Family Feud” Makes History, Naming Myeshia Mizuno as the First Black Woman to Serve as Director for a Primetime Game Show
The beloved game show “Family Feud” announced its historic appointment earlier this year, naming Mizuno the new showrunner/director of the Steve Harvey-hosted game shows “Family Feud” and “Celebrity Family Feud,” the latter recently marking the debut of its 10th season on July 9th. Mizuno grew up in the 70s, and remembers watching the Richard Dawson version of “Family Feud” as a kid, but she never expected that one day she would have such a vital role in the show’s operations.
Speaking with Variety in a recent interview, Mizuno opened up about what this honor means to her. “I grew up watching game shows, everyone watched game shows,” Mizuno revealed. “They have traditionally been run by white males. So, to be the first Black woman to run a primetime network game show is huge. And not just any game show, but an iconic franchise at that! I’m very appreciative of it. I don’t know why it has taken such a long time, but I’m happy to know that it’s now a genre that has been cracked open for someone like me to be a part of it.” Mizuno couldn’t be more qualified to take on this role, with a comprehensive portfolio of work in the television production industry.
Before joining on with the “Family Feud” team, Mizuno was involved with production for network outlets like MTV, NBC, Fox, and BBC, among others, and played a lead role in producing two seasons of “Judge Judy.” After her stint with “Judge Judy,” she worked on various other projects in the daytime courtroom space, and eventually caught the attention of Steve Harvey who reached out to her asking for help developing his own courtroom drama, “Judge Steve Harvey.” After becoming the driving force in creating the show, and serving as executive producer, Harvey enlisted Mizuno’s help in the big leagues of “Family Feud.”
Despite this impressive achievement, Mizuno views her responsibilities with the show humbly, claiming she’s simply “adding oil to the spokes” of the game show which she likens to a well-oiled machine. She has already introduced several minor enhancements to the show – like adding an expenses-paid family vacation to the show’s prizes and incorporating a comfortable backstage area where contestants can relax in between taping episodes. As the new showrunner, Mizuno is helping things run more smoothly for contestants and audiences, without altering the “Family Feud” blueprint too much because, let’s face it, there’s not a whole lot that needs to be improved to the iconic and highly treasured game show.
As the first Black woman to fulfill the director role for a primetime game show, Mizuno has a lot of eyes on her, but despite the pressure, she has handled her newly appointed position with nothing but grace. With Mizuno now a part of the mix, the future of “Family Feud” is in good hands.
