Mike Darnell
American television executive / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael "Mike" Darnell is an American entertainment executive, who according to the Washington Post, "may be the most influential person in television"[1] and by The New York Times as, "One of the longest-running and most successful executives in reality TV."[2] Variety said, Darnell's "record of success is unparalleled."[3] As president of Alternative Entertainment at the FOX network and subsequently president of Unscripted Television at Warner Bros., Darnell has been in charge of some of the most successful and longest-running franchises in television history,[4][5][6] including American Idol, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, The Golden Bachelor, Bachelor in Paradise, The Voice, Family Guy, Futurama, Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, MasterChef, Little Big Shots, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, So You Think You Can Dance, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, The Simple Life, Temptation Island, and hundreds more. In fact, Vanity Fair describes Darnell as, "The mad genius who invented reality TV as we know it.”[7]
Mike Darnell | |
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Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Education | California State University, Northridge |
Occupation | Television executive |
Employer(s) | Fox Broadcasting (1994–2013) Warner Bros. (2013–2023) |
Known for | Reality, unscripted & documentary television |
Spouse | Carolyn Oberman |
Children | 1 |