From intern to Vice President of Comedy Central, meet Dillon Khan

Dillon Khan has a title that’s a mouthful, but his bold personality teeters on larger than life. He’s not a suit, and there’s nothing dull about one of television’s larger role players in South Africa.

Khan is the Vice President of Paramount’s Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Viacom International Studios & Creative Services for Africa.

He came to South Africa about eight years ago from the UK and loves it. After all, Africa runs through his veins. Khan’s parents were born in Kenya.

“Africa was always part of the conversation when I was growing up, so it’s always been a passion zone for me, in my heart.”

And when he had the opportunity for a stint in Mzansi to launch MTV on the continent, he leapt at it, and kept going.

“The idea of having a platform for musicians to showcase their craft to the rest of the world was irresistible,” he said.

Now, as he heads up Comedy Central, too, he said it’s a platform that gives him the opportunity to showcase local and African talent even more.

“It gives comedians the opportunity to not just do well in their own cities, their country or their continent. It places them on a global platform, and we’ve managed to play such a pivotal part in that.

“Whether it was Trevor Noah or Steve Hofmeyer’s Roast, Lupita Nyong’o of Kenya’s blossoming career or Nigerian singer Burna Boy’s star turn.

“I think giving a voice to the continent makes me super, super excited to be giving opportunities to talent in front of the camera, time behind the camera to businesses, and organisations to creating a viable business opportunity. Everyone can benefit from this. I think that’s super, super rewarding.”

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He said that while having a selfie with Jay Z or Beyonce is the glamour part of the business, the real heart of becoming a television executive is the ability to give back, and to help develop talent.

And these days, thanks in part to social media and the global online content creation movement, Khan said that studios often approach people with good ideas, and that the barriers to entry have lowered somewhat. It’s different to a few decades ago when pitching to a network executive was the only route to getting noticed. He added that persistence and resilience also play a big part.

Khan recalls how a documentary on the #FeesMustFall protests came into being. It was an intern that powered the idea along, didn’t leave it alone, and highlighted the importance of capturing the mood of the nation at the time.

“A young intern came and knocked on the door to the office and said, ‘Hey, why are we not covering Fees must fall?’ The intern shared its importance at the time and we sent a crew to cover it. But the intern returned a few days later, asking why we didn’t cover it some more, so we did, again.

“Then, the intern approached us again, suggesting a documentary, and again explained its relevance and importance. And right then and there I signed it off.

“And that is how The People versus the Rainbow Nation was born. From an idea, persistence and belief in it, and a resilient and determined intern.”

Khan understands the hustle. Before he climbed the corporate ladder, he was a freelance journalist in the UK, writing for the Evening Standard and BBC Radio One amongst others. An internship at MTV changed his course into television. He even wrote a book about it, published by Penguin called The Intern, which is still in print and available on online platforms like Amazon.

The MTV internship led to joining the production arm of Viacom in Africa and was seconded to South Africa for the first time. Thereafter, he headed back to the green isles and ditched corporate life to return to freelancing. But, opportunity knocked and he was offered a return to South Africa in 2014 as MTV’s director for the continent. Fast forward his eight-year tenure and today he has the long title, depth of experience, the insight and passion that’s made his channels some of the most successful broadcast entertainment on the continent.

Beyond exploring and nurturing talent, Khan said there’s so much of South Africa to still explore.

“It is such a beautiful country, there are so many stories to tell here, and so many different and incredible things to experience and share.”

Khan’s energy is boundless, his vision and belief in continental talent and the pursuit of discovering and promoting it, is admirable.