New Power of New York List 2023
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Once upon a time, power in New York was measured by what table you commanded at Michael’s. The venerable lunchery is still around, of course, but nowadays, influence is more diffuse, stretching beyond midtown Manhattan through all the five boroughs. Consider this: New York’s hottest restaurant is the Brooklyn chophouse Gage & Tollner, and — seen through the right Instagram filter — every seat there looks like the best one in the house.
More from Variety
All of this issue’s power players are mastering this brave new world, one in which sway happens online and where New York’s grit and attitude extend along the farthest reaches of the subway — or at least into the Bronx, which our cover girl, Ice Spice, calls home.
Kelly Clarkson
New York’s newest voice
Thirty Rockefeller Plaza is getting more melodic, as “The Kelly Clarkson Show” moves across the country from Los Angeles. Clarkson’s talk show will now reside in 30 Rock’s Studio 6A, across from “The Tonight Show” and a couple of blocks away from the theater district. The Emmy-winning program, which snagged 11 more nods this year, will surely benefit from New York and Broadway’s musical talent as it relaunches in a different key.
Rachel Zegler
More than Maria
Zegler beat out thousands to star in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 “West Side Story” remake, propelling her to fame. Up next, the odds will be ever in her favor as she leads the “Hunger Games” prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” Then she’s becoming a Disney princess, playing Snow White in a live-action adaptation and proving she’s the fairest of them all.
Drew Tarver and Heléne Yorke
Family matters
Yorke and Tarver form the overlooked brother-sister duo at the heart of Max’s “The Other Two,” which ended its run as the most penetrating Hollywood satire on television with its finale this summer. While Yorke was raised in L.A., she worked her way up to New York productions of “Bullets Over Broadway” and “American Psycho.” Tarver got his start at Manhattan’s Upright Citizens Brigade.
Mark Consuelos
America’s husband
After years guesting on his wife’s show, Consuelos got to make it official, joining Kelly Ripa as the new co-host of “Live.” The pair have shifted the tone toward surprisingly intimate conversation about their lives together, boosting the profile of the “Riverdale” actor Consuelos in the process. It turns out being married for nearly three decades leads to great on-screen chemistry.
Jenna Lyons
The chicest Housewife
The former creative director of J. Crew has long been a force in fashion. Now she’s returning to the public eye as an addition to “The Real Housewives of New York City.” In doing so, Lyons is opening herself up to scrutiny of her lifestyle and elitist opinions — like her disdain for flying in coach. Fans know she’s earned the right to jet in business class.
Teyana Taylor
The change-up
Already an established musical artist, Taylor earned raves for her performance as a single mother committed to making a future for her son in Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner “A Thousand and One.” The role was a moment of reframing for Taylor, whose previous acting work was on the lighter side. She will next co-star with LaKeith Stanfield in “The Book of Clarence.”
Shawn Levy
Hollywood hitmaker
The filmmaker, who had just begun developing his “Star Wars” film when the writers strike started, is one of Hollywood’s most dependable entertainers. As the founder of 21 Laps Entertainment, the director-producer has more than 15 projects lined up at Netflix, including an adaptation of “All the Light We Cannot See.”
Mark Mylod
Incisive eye
He stuck a knife in the world of haute cuisine with last year’s “The Menu,” a brutal sendup of foodies with too much expendable income, and then flambéed another tier of the upper crust as the director of the most important episodes of “Succession,” including the series finale. Now that the Roy family has engaged in its last round of backstabbing, Mylod’s in demand, with Hollywood lining up for more.
Ariana Greenblatt
Barbie’s chief critic
At just 16, Greenblatt has already been in two of the biggest blockbusters in history: Marvel’s behemoth “Avengers: Infinity War” and Greta Gerwig’s very pink “Barbie.” In the latter, her character, the headstrong daughter of a Mattel employee played by America Ferrera, isn’t afraid to call the plastic doll “fascist” to her face. You can catch her playing a younger version of Rosario Dawson’s Jedi in the “Star Wars” series “Ahsoka.”
Celine Song
Festival phenom
The indie filmmaker took Sundance by storm with “Past Lives,” the story of two childhood sweethearts whose unbreakable connection is tested by fate and geography. And the Oscar buzz has only intensified since A24 opened the movie in the summer. It’s a remarkably assured feature debut for Song, as well as a beautifully calibrated look at the ties that bind.
Alex Newell and J. Harrison Ghee
Tony-night barrier-breakers
Alex Newell (“Shucked”) and J. Harrison Ghee (“Some Like It Hot”) made history on the same night, becoming the first nonbinary Tony winners. Musical theater fans will remember Newell from “Glee” and Broadway’s “Once on This Island.” Ghee made their Broadway debut in “Kinky Boots” as the entrepreneurial drag queen Lola, and later appeared in the musical “Mrs. Doubtfire.”
Sarita Choudhury
Carrie’s BFF
Any “Sex and the City” fan knows it would be nearly impossible to fill the Samantha-sized gap in the Max reboot. But Choudhury, who plays Carrie’s sensual, cigarette-smoking, high-powered real estate agent best friend in “And Just Like That” adds a welcome flair to the New York City franchise. It’s almost enough to make one forget about Kim Cattrall. Almost.
Arian Moayed
From “Succession” to stage
As Torvald, the domineering husband of Nora, in Broadway’s stripped- down reimagining of Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House,” Tony-nominated Moayed provided a fleshed-out portrait of a misogynistic yet charming spouse. Being amorally silky is something Moayed does rather well, as fans of “Succession,” where he showed up as the power-playing Stewy, can attest. Next up: “House of Spoils,” a supernatural thriller.
Sarah Sherman
She’ll make you squirm
Also known as Sarah Squirm, Sherman has carved out her own absurd corner of “Saturday Night Live” with her loud, surrealist sense of humor. Since joining the cast in 2021, she’s appeared on Weekend Update and starred in hilarious yet bizarre sketches, like one in which Oscar Isaac, Charli XCX and the “SNL” cast voiced singing meatballs protruding from Sherman’s body.
Mark Thompson
The power behind the chyron
The veteran executive might have thought his final act was leading The New York Times through a chaotic moment and bolstering its digital subscriptions. That was before David Zaslav called. Now Thompson is the CEO of CNN, a position that recently felled Chris Licht and will demand all of Thompson’s gifts for navigating hazardous media landscapes.
Havana Rose Liu
“Bottoms” breakout
Liu, 25, didn’t intend to become an actress. But after getting street cast as a model, she turned to performing, nabbing a part in the action-drama “Mayday,” and then in the Hulu thriller “No Exit.” Her breakthrough came with the comedy “Bottoms,” where she showed she can land a punch and a punchline. She’ll soon appear in the horror film “They Listen.”
Samara Joy
Hitting all the right notes
One of the most surprising moments at the 2023 Grammys was when Olivia Rodrigo called Joy’s name as best new artist. The 23-year-old jazz singer’s chances of winning were discounted by pop-focused fans, but her undeniable talent won out. She released her self-titled debut in 2021, then dropped “Linger Awhile,” a follow-up that won Joy her second Grammy — this one for best jazz vocal album.
Jelani Alladin
Broadway’s fellow traveler
After originating the role of ruggedly handsome Kristoff in Broadway’s “Frozen” and playing the muscle-bound Roman hero in the stage adaptation of “Hercules,” Alladin appeared in the Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect” and “Tick, Tick … Boom!” Now, he’s starring in Showtime’s “Fellow Travelers,” about two men whose romance spans the McCarthy era, disco and the AIDS epidemic. Historically complicated times to be gay.
Alex Wagner
Election connection
From Tuesday to Friday, the host of “Alex Wagner Tonight” fills the time slots vacated by Rachel Maddow, who has scaled back her show as part of a new contract. With the presidential race heating up — and democracy, you know, hanging in the balance — Wagner will be busy covering the criminal trials, impeachments and government shutdowns that will make viewers dependent on Dramamine by the time election night rolls around.
Matthew López
Red-hot (and royal blue)
With 2019’s “The Inheritance,” López became the first Latino writer to win a Tony for best play. He returned to Broadway with the musical adaptation of “Some Like It Hot,” the most-nominated show of 2023. His career is moving offstage too: López co-wrote and directed “Red, White & Royal Blue,” a gay rom-com that was one of this summer’s most talked-about streaming movies.
Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews
All Eyes on her
A former Washington bureau chief, Ciprian-Matthews was named president of CBS News this summer. She will oversee everything from perennial ratings bright spot “60 Minutes” to the network’s morning show and D.C.-based nightly newscast — both of which have lagged in terms of viewership and will need fresh energy and ideas.
Jocelyn Bioh
Hair plays and Hulu
Bioh has brought the African diaspora to Broadway with comedies like “Nollywood Dreams,” “School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play” and her latest, “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” which highlights the beauty and hard work put into Black women’s hair. Her poignant, amusing prose made her the perfect writer for Hulu’s “Tiny Beautiful Things,” which picked up two Emmy nominations.
Roger Ross Williams
Documentary dynamo
The Oscar- and Emmy-winning documentarian has examined everything from U.S. prisons to autism. Now he’s turned his attention to pop culture icons. This year, Williams directed the disco-queen tribute “Love to Love You, Donna Summer” and “The Super Models,” a look at the impact of Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington on and off the runway.
Davis Burleson, Kyle Gordon and Sabrina Brier
TikTok’s takeover
Stroll through any New York park and you’re bound to run into a TikToker making content or filming person-on-the-street interviews. Burleson’s “What’s Poppin? With Davis!” series is one of the most popular, with the creator becoming a fixture at Washington Square Park and red carpets. Gordon and Brier, meanwhile, grew audiences with the outrageous characters they portray in short videos, and collaborated on the hilarious summer bop “Planet of the Bass.”
Kimberly Godwin
Top of the alphabet
Tapped to serve as the president of ABC News in 2021, Godwin has led her organization through corporate drama (including speculation Disney may sell the division) and personnel crises (as when her anchors Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes were found to be having an affair). Through it all, Godwin has kept the department on track, with David Muir’s newscast consistently leading the field.
Gio Benitez
ABC’s astro geek
Co-anchoring the weekend edition of “Good Morning America” is only the latest achievement for this journalist. Having cut his teeth on the transportation beat for ABC News and appeared on “World News Tonight” and “20/20,” Benitez, who describes himself as a “space geek,” memorably covered NASA’s forthcoming Artemis II mission this year. To infinity and beyond.
Kat Timpf
Millennial correspondent
A regular panelist on Fox News’ late night series “Gutfeld!,” Timpf represents a new archetype for the network. In heavy-framed glasses and speaking with a millennial’s laconic energy, she represents something of a turn away from the net’s seething-populist house style. Her new book, “You Can’t Joke About That: Why Everything is Funny, Nothing is Sacred, and We’re All in This Together,” probes how humor can be used to build bridges.
Jessica Sibley
Growing the red border
Since coming on board as the new CEO of Time in 2022, Sibley’s charge has been to find ways to reinvent the fusty brand. She’s set about growing Time Studios, an in-house production company selling to major networks and streamers, as well as launching a highly touted podcast effort and leveraging franchises like Time 100 into live events.
Henry Timms
Tear down that wall
The president and chief executive of Lincoln Center wants to lower the drawbridge to one of Manhattan’s most rarefied cultural institutions. When he’s not busy fine-tuning a $550 million renovation of David Geffen Hall, Timms is helping to create a plan to possibly demolish parts of the complex’s western wall and build an outdoor stage to better integrate it into the surrounding neighborhood.
Olmo Schnabel
Future auteur
The up-and-coming filmmaker (and offspring of artist and director Julian Schnabel) impressed with “Pet Shop Days,” a crime drama that bowed at the Venice Film Festival. The queer couple at the center of this thriller are young, in love with each other and with drugs, and gleefully content to rip off the 1% to have a good time. Think Bonnie and Clyde on ecstasy.
Steve Gold
A-list accommodator
Gold was a fan-favorite addition to Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing New York” and has more than 15 years of experience as a luxury real estate broker to the stars. At The Corcoran Group, he sells eye-popping properties to platinum clients all over Manhattan and Brooklyn’s chicest neighborhoods. If you’re in the market for a multimillion-dollar new home, Gold is your man.
Roz Chast
The silly side of sleep
The legendary New Yorker cartoonist, who honed her quirky wit while growing up in Brooklyn, returns with a new graphic novel, “I Must Be Dreaming.” It promises to be an off-kilter look at the nightly act of getting some shut-eye. Given how hilariously Chast has captured the absurdities of waking life in her books and illustrations, she should have no trouble mining humor from our dream world.
Chris Black and Jason Stewart
Audio arbiters of cool
The watchword among a certain subset of arch, knowledgeable media insiders has become “How Long Gone,” a podcast that documents the lifestyles and preoccupations of two bicoastal tastemakers. Guests including Andy Cohen, Bret Easton Ellis and the Chainsmokers have subjected themselves to Black and Stewart’s sly, joking-but-not questioning, while listeners have tuned in to bask in the duo’s gossipy, cosmopolitan company.
Marc Rebillet
He’s in the Loop
Rebillet’s improvised shows, livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook from his apartment, became lockdown sensations. The artist, whose nickname, “Loop Daddy,” refers to the electronic live-looping technique he uses in his compositions, has more than 2 million subscribers. In the past year, he’s embarked on a soldout tour, hosted a show on Amazon Music’s Twitch channel and been the subject of a documentary.
Gina Duncan
BAM’s boss
It was a homecoming for the new president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music when she joined last year from a top post at Sundance. You see, Duncan previously worked as BAM’s head of film. That familiarity allowed her to quickly make an impact. She’s introduced a “pay what you can” membership that’s made the arts organization more accessible, while staging Zadie Smith’s debut play, “The Wife of Willesden.”
David Grann
Nonfiction heavyweight
Author Grann’s latest, “The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder,” is about an 18th-century mutiny — don’t be surprised if it ends up on the big screen. Grann’s historical tales have become features including “The Old Man & the Gun,” “The Lost City of Z” and now Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” In fact, Scorsese is signing up for another ride with Grann, having nabbed film rights to “The Wager.”
Kwame Onwuachi
Fusion of flavors
Onwuachi is a former “Top Chef ” contestant and author of “Notes From a Young Black Chef: A Memoir.” In 2022, he opened his first N.Y.C. restaurant — the Afro Caribbean-inspired Tatiana at Lincoln Center — which quickly became one of the hottest spots in town. New York Times food critic Pete Wells described the experience as “profoundly celebratory” in a review that helped establish Tatiana as the place for post-opera nourishment.
The Dare
Downtown funk
Last December, Harrison Patrick Smith was a substitute teacher in the West Village, with a second life as a DJ at night. Then he adopted the name the Dare and dropped the indie sleaze anthem “Girls” — now he’s a staple of downtown NYC’s scenester watering holes. The Dare is leveling up with a new record deal from Republic, home to Taylor Swift and Drake.
Sohui Kim, Ben Schneider and St. John Frizell
Brooklyn’s culinary stars
First opened when Edith Wharton was a teenager, Gage & Tollner was a defining restaurant of Brooklyn’s Gilded Age. It closed in 2004 and might have remained shuttered, but chef Kim, along with partners Schneider and Frizell, had the idea to relaunch the beacon of outer-borough fine dining. The landmark interior glimmers as patrons nosh on she-crab soup and fried chicken with kale-kimchi slaw.
Cat Kreidich
Reinventionist
The ADA Worldwide president has overhauled the Warner Music-owned indie distribution company for the 21st century, bringing in a largely female staff, expanding it internationally (scoring with German singer Ayliva, Spanish rapper Quevedo, Belgian-Moroccan MC Hamza and Australian rapper Kerser) and bridging the gap between an independent music company and a major one.
Matthew Schneier
New York’s favorite dinner date
Known for his sharp eye and sharper pen, Schneier was an inspired choice to replace Adam Platt as New York Magazine’s restaurant critic. Formerly covering fashion and culture, Schneier will now turn his gaze toward cuisine, doing so from one of the food world’s most influential perches.
Abby Phillip, Phil Mattingly and Kaitlan Collins
This is CNN
While CNN’s leadership, and its lineup, have been in flux, these three young journalists have risen above the off-screen chaos. This year, Phillip was elevated to host the 10 p.m. time slot’s “CNN NewsNight With Abby Phillip,” Mattingly began co-anchoring “CNN This Morning” with Poppy Harlow and Collins claimed the 9 p.m. slot with “The Source With Kaitlan Collins.” Tune in to watch them shine.
Justin Eshak and Imran Majid
The remodelers
Named co-CEOs of Island Records in 2022, the pair (who have worked together since 2004) have revitalized the iconic label’s U.S. roster, adding largely female artists like Brittany Howard, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Remi Wolf, Nia Archives and Chvrches to a list that boasts the Killers, Demi Lovato and Shawn Mendes.
Jon Adler
Wonder weaver
A former senior vice president at CNN, Adler recently boarded EverWonder Studio as its head of talent and content development. EverWonder was launched this summer by Jeff Zucker’s RedBird IMI, so its eventual nonfiction features and series will be closely watched. Adler’s CNN résumé includes original series like “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” and “The History of Comedy.”
Tom Russell and Jordan Wolowitz
Let’s put on a show
With Governors Ball, the city’s biggest music festival, the Founders Entertainment duo accomplished in 2023 what many have tried and failed to do: bring a major music festival to the iconic Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Then they branched out beyond the outer boroughs to neighboring Connecticut to launch the Sound on Sound festival.
Golnar Khosrowshahi
The dealmaker
The Reservoir Media founder has quietly built a music powerhouse. Among the deals she’s orchestrated are the acquisition of the catalogs of Tommy Boy Records — which involved clearing up the legal complications around hip-hop pioneers De La Soul, whose music had never been on streaming — and jazz great Sonny Rollins. For good measure, Reservoir signed a joint venture with “American Idol” producer 19 Entertainment.
Ian Holder
Talent spotter
A native New Yorker, Holder, the SVP creative at Sony Music Publishing, has become a major player at the influential company. He has signed Jack Harlow, Lil Durk, Moneybagg Yo, Lil Tjay and many others. A recent success is working with producer Dunk Rock, best known for his work on Gunna’s “Fukumean,” which topped multiple Billboard charts.
Steven Romo
NBC’s rising star
The NBC News contributor once wrote that he “grew up fluent in secrecy” in a religious family. Now he’s among a rising generation of openly queer news talents. He was hired full time by the network in 2022 and has covered such consequential stories as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Best of Variety
