Sam Sokolow

Sam Sokolow is Stage 32’s Director of Education and is passionate about the role education plays in the entertainment industry. Sam is also a highly respected television executive and 2-time Emmy nominated Executive Producer with deep experience in developing and producing television series.

Sam is currently Executive Producer of "GENIUS", a scripted series for National Geographic Network, which he developed from book to series.

The first season of "GENIUS" depicted the life of Albert Einstein with Geoffrey Rush starring as Einstein and Ron Howard directing the pilot. "GENIUS: EINSTEIN" garnered ten 2017 Emmy nominations including a Best Limited Series nomination for Sam.

The second season of "GENIUS" - "GENIUS: PICASSO" - depicted the life of Pablo Picasso with Antonio Banderas starring as Picasso and garnered seven 2018 Emmy nominations including a Best Limited Series nomination for Sam.

The third season of "GENIUS" – "GENIUS: ARETHA" - depicted the life of “The Queen Of Soul” Aretha Franklin, with Cynthia Erivo portraying Aretha and Suzan-Lori Parks showrunning, and garnered three 2021 Emmy nominations.

Season 4 of "GENIUS" – "GENIUS: MLK/X" - depicts the lives of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X and will premiere on February 1st, 2024 on Nat Geo and air the following night on Disney+ and Hulu.

Prior, Sam served as a founder of Nice Media Studios, an independent studio based in Los Angeles and Toronto and the President of EUE/Sokolow, an independent television studio based in Los Angeles and New York and before that Sam was a founding partner of SokoLobl Entertainment, an independent television production company based in Los Angeles. While leading these companies, Sam executive produced 18 original TV series and set up dozens of television and film projects at every major studio and distributor in Hollywood.

In 2000, Sam served as Co-President of Homemade Entertainment, a venture capital backed television and media content website. In 1997, Sam co-wrote, produced and directed the award-winning independent feature film THE DEFINITE MAYBE, starring Josh Lucas, Roy Scheider and Bob Balaban. In 1999, Sam became the first filmmaker to self-distribute his own feature film via the Internet, a groundbreaking digital distribution initiative that landed him on Good Morning America and in Time Magazine.

Previously, Sam created and produced world-class advertising and marketing campaigns for agencies such as Wells Rich Green, Moss/Dragoti and Partners & Shevack. Sam also spent a year as a Metro & crime reporter for the New York Daily News.