Matt Kunitz (born
November 5,
1968) is a television executive producer known for his work on
reality television programming. In July 2008, the
Los Angeles Times dubbed Kunitz "The King of Reality TV."
[Collins, Scott; "Just call Matt Kunitz the king of reality TV"; [[latimes.com]; July 14, 2008]]
Television career
Kunitz was supervising producer of
The Real World, one of the first reality television shows to gain a national audience, and was executive producer of NBC's
Fear Factor. Kunitz spent six years in an overall production deal with NBC Universal Studios. While at NBC, Kunitz also was the executive producer of
Dog Eat Dog and
Late Friday and served as a consultant on
Lost and
Treasure Hunters. In March 2006, Kunitz left NBC Universal and began a new two year overall deal with, reality powerhouse,
Endemol USA, producers of
Fear Factor,
Deal or no Deal,
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and
Big Brother. Kunitz's first assignment at Endemol was to adapt and executive produce Endemol's U.S. version of the singing competition "Operacion Triunfo" for ABC, retitled
The One: Making a Music Star.
In 2008 Kunitz was the executive producer of
Celebrity Circus for
NBC. Kunitz is currently the executive producer on
Wipeout, a new stunt based competition he created for ABC.
Wipeout became the highest rated new summer series of 2008.
The
Wipeout format has been sold to more than 20 territories and
Endemol has created an obstacle course in Argentina for those international editions.
[www.variety.com/article/VR1117990861.html?categoryid=19&cs=1]
