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Examples of unscripted programming’s dominance abound. The genre gave Discovery the money to complete its $43 billion April merger with Warner Bros. In October, it propelled onetime alternative exec Rob Wade to the top post at Fox Entertainment. And as many cable networks wave the white flag, it’s allowed Bravo to thrive and even segue into the events space — recently luring 30,000 attendees to BravoCon in New York. Sure, it may never be as sexy as scripted — figuratively, that is … there’s still quite a bit of sex in reality TV — but unscripted bankrolls Hollywood. So, when revisiting its rundown of the most powerful players in the arena for the first time in seven years, THR looked to the ones truly wielding that power: the producers who know how to deliver both quality and quantity in a market where there aren’t enough suppliers to keep up with the demand. Yes, there’s some talent and other wild cards in the mix. But this is reality TV. Predictable would be boring.
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Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato and RuPaul Charles
Emboldened by the global success of RuPaul’s Drag Race, World of Wonder co-founders Bailey and Barbato have taken an interesting approach to capitalizing on the franchise’s success. International versions of the VH1 flagship, which runs two cycles in the U.S. each year alongside spinoff Untucked, air domestically on the proprietary WOW Presents Plus app for fans willing to pony up $4.99 a month. Charles, an executive producer on all Drag Race titles, remains an industry force. He took home his seventh Emmy for hosting in September.
Last big sacrifice to stay on budget
BAILEY AND BARBATO “Pay for the fucking thing ourselves.”
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Nicole Byer
The comedian and actress obviously has a lot more going on than just reality, but Byer, nominated three times for hosting Netflix favorite Nailed It!, is a guaranteed green light to any project she toplines. Also an executive producer on Nailed It!, Byer tops Hollywood’s hosting ask lists and occasionally has room on her dance card to take the call —recently toplining the TBS revival of Wipeout alongside John Cena.
Format I’d most like to reboot “The Swan or More to Love.”
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Chris Coelen
With three of the most watched unscripted shows on Netflix — originals Love Is Blind and The Ultimatum, as well as the second window for Lifetime flagship Married at First Sight — Coelen’s Kinetic Content shingle (acquired by The North Road Company in July) has become one of the most successful outfits in the game. His upcoming slate includes projects at virtually every streamer, while his latest co-production (Claim to Fame) proved to be a summer sleeper for ABC.
Why won’t anyone buy my pitch about … “The love lives of Shetland ponies.”
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Andy Cohen
Not just the face of Bravo with nightly talk show Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, the multihyphenate remains a driving force behind the cable channel’s robust slate of original unscripted series — namely the sprawling Real Housewives franchise. Cohen, who toplined three fevered days at BravoCon in October, has been particularly focused on expanding and rebranding the New York iteration with a new cast and a spinoff for select alums. He’s also toeing the company line, helping feed originals to NBCUniversal streamer Peacock (see: Ultimate Girls Trip).
Too much time at my job is spent… “Dealing with Twitter outrage.”
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David Collins, Rob Eric and Michael Williams
Driven by flagships Queer Eye (Netflix) and Legendary (HBO Max), Scout Productions is a go-to for inclusive content. With the trio of lead creatives, the company is also frequently experimenting with new platforms. Most recently, they reimagined fantasy format The Quest for kids at Disney+ and recently wrapped the second season of streetwear competition The Hype at HBO Max.
If this weren’t my job, I’d be …
COLLINS “A large-farm-animal veterinarian in Ohio or fishing on the pro bass circuit.”
ERIC “A struggling musician who is also a fashion designer, baker, pottery teacher and an amateur milliner.”
Format I’d most like to reboot
WILLIAMS “I loved The Joe Schmo Show. Also, an honorable mention goes to Beat the Clock.”
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Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz
Since launching Alfred Street Productions in 2019, the former Magical Elves co-founders have reunited and are reaping major dividends. Absurdist cooking competition/game show Is It Cake? ranks as Netflix’s biggest unscripted debut of 2022 (season two is already in post), pizza clash Best in Dough is bolstering Hulu’s food offerings, a Project Greenlight revival with Issa Rae’s Hoorae is on deck at HBO Max, and Project Runway, back on Bravo, hits its landmark 20th season in the coming year. Additional projects are in the works at HBO, Hulu, Fox, Peacock and Univision.
Format I’d most like to reboot
CUTFORTH AND LIPSITZ “The show that began our partnership was Bands on the Run on VH1. The music industry is so different, but the world is still full of talent looking for a break and maybe some sex and drugs as well. What do you say, Paramount+?”
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Mike Darnell
The elder statesman of reality executives, Darnell celebrated his decade at Warner Bros. unscripted television with a show of job security from the new regime. In addition to producing 50 series annually (roughly 1,500 hours of programming across platforms), he’s launched massive specials (HBO Max’s Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts), is nurturing invaluable franchises (ABC’s Bachelor-verse and NBC’s The Voice) and even dabbling in the occasional talk show (see Jennifer Hudson, his pal from having run American Idol at Fox).
If this weren’t my job, I’d be … “Playing piano in the Warner Bros. executive dining room.”
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Adam DiVello
The longtime MTV executive who went on to create and showrun The Hills has found major fruits in his return to showcasing Southern California one-percenters. He launched Netflix hit Selling Sunset in 2019 under his Done and Done Productions banner and, with that franchise still going strong, followed up with Selling the OC in August. Both marry two unscripted standbys: real estate porn and petty drama.
Why won’t anyone buy my pitch about … “A reality rom-com I’ve been pitching for years! Anyone interested, call me!”
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Guy Fieri
Signing a massive deal to stay put at Food Network parent Discovery in 2021, the Mayor of Flavortown continues to prove himself as the channel’s most prolific and valuable player. Under his Knuckle Sandwich production shingle, Fieri boasts four fruitful vehicles for himself (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives; Guy’s Grocery Games; Guy’s Ranch Kitchen; Tournament of Champions), recently launched a new series from network neighbor Rae Drummond (Big Bad Budget Battle) and even premiered a splashy new celebrity format: Guy’s Ultimate Game Night.
Why won’t anyone buy my pitch about … “Dashing chef becomes newest 007 … what could possibly go wrong?”
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Bobby Flay
Leveraging his loyal Food Network audience, Flay secured a pricey three-year contract extension that began at the top of 2022. Under the pact, he still churns out dozens of episodes of Beat Bobby Flay, while his Rock Shrimp Productions shingle also delivers summer hit BBQ Brawl, recently kicked off competition Bobby’s Triple Threat and father-daughter docuseries Bobby and Sophie on the Coast. He’s got a lot more in development, too.
Too much time at my job is spent … “Thinking about when the supply chain issues will come to an end. Nothing comes on time anymore.”
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Andrew Fried
A bit more highbrow than many of its peers, Fried’s Boardwalk Pictures focuses on glossy docuseries with projects like Cheer, Chef’s Table, spinoff Chef’s Table: Pizza and Street Food: USA. And while those may all be at Netflix, he’s selling everywhere. Boardwalk was behind recent FX unscripted foray Welcome to Wrexham. The starry serial followed Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds in their quest to overhaul a struggling Welsh football club.
Format I’d most like to reboot “Iconoclasts. Coming up on that show at the beginning of my career remains a highlight for me, as was the experience of telling stories with such luminaries. I wish we could still be making those.”
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Chip and Joanna Gaines
In all the confusion over who would emerge from the Discovery and Warner Bros. merger with power, the Gaineses — over a year into launching their Magnolia Channel — made their value clear. Their series now air on their own linear channel, Discovery+ and HBO Max. And while they are network bosses, they’re also producers. The Gaineses’ Blind Nil production company has already supplied 16 original programs to the growing network. Among them are flagships Fixer Upper: Welcome Home and Magnolia Kitchen.
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David George
The CEO of ITV America remains one of the most consistent and prolific suppliers of unscripted content across cable, broadcast and streamers. George’s massive portfolio of acquired shingles produces such long-running successes as Queer Eye, Hell’s Kitchen, Love Island and Pawn Stars (550-plus episodes and counting). Also worth noting: ITV America’s Leftfield Productions is also responsible for Alone, the survivalist drama that is somehow a flagship for both History and Netflix, where it gets a second window.
Too much time at my job is spent … “Talking about cost. We are all so consumed with the numbers that it can take us away from what got us here in the first place, and that’s being creative. We need a real creative jolt in the unscripted world right now, and we have to get a lot better at balancing that need with the numbers.”
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Toby Gorman
President of Universal Television Alternative Studio since 2019, Gorman fills a pipeline to NBCU properties with star vehicles like Making It (Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman), Baking It (Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg) and a Weakest Link revival (Jane Lynch). 2022 brought the successful launch of a That’s My Jam starring Jimmy Fallon, while Dick Wolf’s first unscripted show (LA Fire and Rescue) ranks high among buzzy upcoming projects.
Last big sacrifice to stay on budget “Days. Condensing a production schedule is a dangerous game and can potentially reduce the quality of the product. But in a world of shrinking budgets, shooting faster can absolutely save the day.”
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Glenda Hersh and Steven Weinstock
Producers of most Real Housewives series, including the perennially popular Atlanta version, the duo behind Truly Original also produce spinoff Kandi & the Gang, the Potomac iteration and an international foray set in Dubai. In non-Housewives programming, their growing slate also includes recent CW swing Would I Lie to You? Given the network’s new ownership, the series is motivating the push into unscripted.
Person in TV I most admire right now
HERSH “Reese Witherspoon. She’s built an empire telling women’s stories.”
Last big sacrifice to stay on budget
WEINSTOCK “Moving a long-running U.S.-based production to Canada.”
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Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman
In acquiring their prolific Industrial Media (Indian Matchmaking, Selena + Chef, American Idol) production outfit for $350 million in March, Sony Pictures Television also set Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman as leadership of nonfiction entertainment at the storied studio — with Holzman serving as president and Saidman as co-president. Their expanded portfolio now includes existing Sony properties such as Shark Tank and eight companies that SPT has either purchased or partnered with, most notably 90 Day Fiancé producers Sharp Entertainment.
Why won’t anyone buy my pitch about …
HOLZMAN “A vegetable-growing competition. I hesitate to type this here lest it be pilfered.”
SAIDMAN “A slow, methodical baggage-claim procedural designed for BBC3.”
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Kris Jenner
The mastermind behind the ultimate reality dynasty, Jenner successfully segued her family’s docuseries business in 2022 with new Hulu project The Kardashians. Boasting a slightly more elevated aesthetic than its long-running E! predecessor, Jenner now produces the follow-up under a newly formed Kardashian Jenner Productions banner. Her slate, as of now, is just the one show. But if you were to pick just one reality show to produce, wouldn’t it be The Kardashians?
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Carlos King
A massive rising star in the unscripted field, King and his Kingdom Reign production company have become one of the biggest suppliers to OWN. Series Love & Marriage: Huntsville and spinoff Love & Marriage: DC are the top two Saturday players among African American women. More spinoffs are an inevitability. And so confident is OWN in King’s skills, behind the camera and in front of it, he launched the network’s first late night talk show (The Nightcap With Carlos King) in May.
If this weren’t my job, I’d be …
“A psychologist, since that’s really what reality producers are at the end of the day!”
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Casey Kriley and Jo Sharon
With two formidable franchises, Top Chef and Nailed It!, the Magical Elves co-CEOs are shepherding shows on both ends of the culinary spectrum. Both perennial Emmy nominees and massive players for their respective platforms, Bravo and Netflix, the pair have also been exported to multiple territories — while continuing to evolve. The most recent season of Nailed It! was a cross-promotional orgy of Netflix talent, while the upcoming season of Top Chef moves the action abroad to London with 16 contestants from among the 29 territories where the show has aired.
Format I’d most like to reboot
SHARON “Gallery Girls from Bravo.”
Person in TV I most admire right now
KRILEY “Zendaya. I’m in awe of her talent.”
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Sharon Levy
Since assuming the role of chief content officer at Endemol Shine North America, Levy oversees both scripted and unscripted — but it’s the latter that often keeps her the busiest. On top of nurturing sprawling current productions — see Lego Masters, MasterChef and Big Brother, the company is also launching inventive new titles like Peacock dating entry The Courtship.
Format I’d most like to reboot “Deal or No Deal”
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Lizzo
With a new production company, Lizzo Bangers, and an overall deal with Amazon, the singer made a splash with her first TV project. Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, a competition for plus-size dancers to win a slot on Lizzo’s tour, which successfully wooed both critics and TV Academy voters. The unscripted debut was nominated for six Emmys and won three, among them the outstanding competition trophy. It was the first freshman series to win the top prize, setting high expectations for Lizzo’s future TV efforts.
Person in TV I most admire right now “Myself — I admire my perspective and refreshing approach to reality television, because I stayed true and kept my intentions pure. I did everything on my terms.”
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Rob Mills
ABC’s longtime unscripted chief — who also now runs alternative programing across the Disney portfolio (including Hulu) — inherited his own studio in 2021 with the formation of Walt Disney Television Alternative. The upstart production outfit has already launched four titles — The Great American Tag Sale With Martha Stewart, Claim to Fame, The Final Straw and The American Rescue Dog Show — as Disney aims to own unscripted on top of its massive suite of in-house scripted efforts.
Why won’t anyone buy my pitch about … “The Mike Darnell Celebrity Tennis Classic.”
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Reinout Oerlemans and Ross Weintraub
The producer behind Paramount mainstay Bar Rescue, which has made more than 230 episodes and stands as the only series to linger from the old Spike TV days, 3BMG has been on a launch spree of late — reimagining Iron Chef, scoring Colton Underwood doc series Coming Out Colton and recently kicking off the third season of Bling Empire, all at Netflix. They’re actively selling across platforms, but we’d be lying if we said we weren’t holding out for a return of one of their classics — Animal Planet’s My Cat From Hell.
Format I’d most like to reboot
WEINTRAUB “Taxicab Confessions“
Last big sacrifice to stay on budget
OERLEMANS “Being in quarantine for two weeks locked in a hotel room in Sydney, Australia.”
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Dan Peirson and Lisa Shannon
Perhaps the most prolific outfit in Warner Bros.’ unscripted division, Peirson and Shannon’s Shed Media may be best known for The Real Housewives of New York — a franchise they are in the midst of rebooting with a starry cast. Though their biggest business is at Bravo — they also make The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and Below Deck Adventure — Shed also has series at TruTV, Oxygen, E!, NBC and Peacock.
FORMAT I’D MOST LIKE TO REBOOT
SHANNON “Mexican Dynasties. There is a real lack of Latinx programming, and this series gave the audience a look at a rich, beautiful culture through a multigenerational, comedic lens that deserves a spotlight.”
LAST BIG SACRIFICE TO STAY ON BUDGET
PEIRSON “Our dignity.”
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Julie Pizzi
Taking the helm of the original reality production house Bunim/Murray, which essentially invented the reality genre with The Real World in 1992, Pizzi has the rebooted the company’s original franchise with a Homecoming spinoff and has two versions of ever-popular spinoff The Challenge. The latter is now airing cycles on both MTV and Paramount+. Trusted in both traditional reality and the docuseries space, Bunim/Murray was also a production partner on landmark miniseries Surviving R. Kelly and, more recently, Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls.
FORMAT I’D MOST LIKE TO REBOOT “MTV’s Road Rules. It’s a 30-year-old brand, but very much still relevant to a Gen X/Z audience. Six strangers spend four months traveling the world and pushing their boundaries socially and physically while they attempt unimaginable feats!”
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Gordon Ramsay
Plenty of unscripted stars and producers own a disproportionate percentage of the schedule on a cable channel, but nobody in the genre owns as many hours on a broadcast network as Ramsay. The Sour Patch Kid of hosts — he’s sour then sweet! — Ramsay and his Studio Ramsay production outfit are hugely important to the increasingly unscripted-focused Fox network. On Fox alone, he has Hell’s Kitchen, MasterChef, MasterChef Junior and Next Level Chef. There’s also a sprawling and ever-growing portfolio in his native U.K.
Too much time at my job is spent … “Doing TikToks. I’m a chef, for goodness sake!”
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Drew and Jonathan Scott
Signing a new three-year deal with HGTV in 2022, Property Brothers’ Drew and Jonathan Scott are the de facto faces of a network that’s already flush with recognizable talent. Scott Brothers Entertainment produces vehicles for others (see The Nate & Jeremiah Home Project, featuring home design guru Nate Berkus, drag renovation Discovery+ hit Trixie Motel and Melissa McCarthy’s The Great Giveback) and also, naturally, themselves. The most popular among their slew of series is Celebrity IOU, a show that has welcomed Brad Pitt, Lisa Kudrow, Kevin Hart and Viola Davis to the HGTV fold — and stands to welcome even more now that it’s under the Warner Bros. umbrella.
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Mona Scott-Young
The mastermind executive producer behind the eternally popular Love & Hip Hop franchise — you know, the one that introduced the world to Cardi B — Scott-Young’s shingle Monami Productions has been on a tear of new launches of late — setting Lineage to Legacy at VH1, B-Boy Blues at BET+ and, as of Nov. 3, Hip Hop Homicides at WE tv alongside fellow EP Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
Too much time at my job is spent … “On follow-ups. The post-pandemic remote workflow makes collaboration more challenging, and the days of ‘popping your head in’ to check on progress are basically over.”
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Arthur Smith
Founder of A. Smith and Co. and chairman of parent company Tinopolis Group U.S., Smith has a tenure in unscripted that includes spearheading more than 200 original shows for north of 50 platforms. These days, he’s got both long-running franchises (NBC’s American Ninja Warrior) and a barrage of new entries — both serious and silly. He partnered with Tina Knowles-Lawson on the docuseries Profiled: The Black Man and has given Netflix three seasons of comedic physical challenge Floor Is Lava.
Too much time at my job is spent … “On video calls. I greatly miss pitching shows in the room. There’s an amazing energy and connection in pitching something you’re passionate about face-to-face that just can’t be duplicated through a bunch of boxes on a computer screen. That energy far outweighs the hassle of traffic and parking, even in L.A.”
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Rob Wade
So ascendant in unscripted that he can no longer be defined by just the one genre, Wade — Fox’s longtime reality chief and head of in-house studio Fox Alternative Entertainment — was named CEO of Fox Entertainment in June. He’s still overseeing the studio during the transition, and for good reason. He made megahit The Masked Singer an in-house production, launched Studio Ramsay Global with his longtime culinary collaborator, facilitated the acquisition of TMZ and is aggressively selling formats globally.
Too much time at my job is spent … “Doing anything that draws me too far away from the content for too long. Of course, there are important priorities outside this — but I try to stay as close to the creative process as much as I can.”
This story first appeared in the Nov. 9 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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