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Mark Cronin | |
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| Occupation(s) | Television producer, writer |
Mark Cronin is an American television producer and writer.
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Mark Cronin | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Occupation(s) | Television producer, writer |
Mark Cronin is an American television producer and writer.
Cronin grew up in the Philadelphia suburb of Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Upper Darby High School and the University of Pennsylvania. At the former, he earned a degree in Chemical Engineering and was on the cast of the Mask and Wig Club. He spent five years working as an engineer in research and marketing. [1] His first job in entertainment was moonlighting as a freelance joke writer for an Ace Award-winning newsbreak spoof on Nick at Nite called Global Village News .[ citation needed ]
Cronin switched careers permanently when he joined Howard Stern's nationally syndicated Saturday night television show The Howard Stern Show as a staff writer in 1991. [2] His responsibilities expanded to include scripting entire episodes, producing celebrity interviews, and producing comedic field pieces. [3] He went on to contribute to Stern's national radio show [ citation needed ] and serve as producer/writer on his television and video projects, including Stern's New Year's Rotten Eve pay per view special [4] — the most watched entertainment pay per view event of all time. [5] Cronin also scripted an entire E! Entertainment special for Stern's book, Miss America. [6]
In 1995, he moved to Los Angeles to become head writer for MTV's dating show Singled Out with Chris Hardwick and Jenny McCarthy. He eventually was promoted to show-runner for two seasons. In 1996, he joined the Fox network, supervising production for their first prime-time game show, Big Deal . In 1997, he returned to late night and served as supervising producer for The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show .[ citation needed ]
In 1997, Cronin founded Mindless Entertainment with then-partner Gary Auerbach, who left the company in 2001. The inspiration for the company name came from Cronin's mother, who called TV "that mindless entertainment".
Mindless' initial production slate included The X Show and The New Movie Show with Chris Gore for FX; Beat the Geeks for Comedy Central; America's Most Talented Kids for PAX; and Cram and Extreme Dodgeball for GSN.
In 2004, Cronin's Mindless Entertainment teamed up with Cris Abrego's 51 Pictures to form 51 Minds Entertainment — the company that produces VH1's lineup of reality television. Anchored by the "Celebreality" flagship show The Surreal Life , the company went on to create related shows including Strange Love , with Flavor Flav and Brigitte Nielsen; My Fair Brady with Christopher Knight and Adrianne Curry; The Surreal Life Fame Games ; Flavor of Love ; I Love New York ; and Rock of Love. In 2008, Endemol USA acquired a controlling interest in 51 Minds in a deal reported to be worth upward of $200 million. [7]
In 2013 Cronin produced and created Below Deck [8] for Bravo (which was the channel's highest rated, new show premiere of the year), Ghost Mine [9] for SyFy Channel (which garnered a second season order [10] ), Cash Dome Pawn [11] for TruTV, Heroes of Cosplay [12] for SyFy Channel, and Scrubbing In [13] for MTV.
In 2014, Cronin began producing under a new banner, Little Wooden Boat Productions. Under Little Wooden Boat, he became executive producer of Idiotest on Game Show Network and is currently in the development stage for multiple other projects. Idiotest continues to be renewed by GSN and premiered its fourth season, Thursday, January 19, 2017. [14]
As of 2016, Below Deck has had continued success [15] [16] with its audience and has completed four seasons. Season 4 is considered one of Bravo's fastest growing series [17] and season 5 is set to return to production in 2017.
With Below Deck's popularity, Cronin sold a spin-off show to Bravo called, Below Deck Mediterranean. [18] This series premiered May 3, 2016 and the season's ratings permitted Bravo to renew the show for a second season that premiered in 2017. [19]
Game Show Network (GSN) is an American basic cable channel owned by the television network division of Sony Pictures Television. The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along with new, first-run original and revived game shows. The network has also previously aired reality competition series and televised poker.
Boston Legal is an American legal drama and comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to December 8, 2008. The series stars James Spader, William Shatner and Candice Bergen. It is a direct spin-off and continuation of the TV series The Practice, with several characters from the eighth season of that series moving to Boston Legal. While never a Nielsen ratings smash hit, the show was critically acclaimed. It received 26 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, including for Outstanding Drama Series in 2007 and 2008.
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Michael Levitt is an American television producer of award shows, reality shows, game shows and specials. He has produced programs such as Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, The TV Land Awards, The Scream Awards, Live From the Red Carpet, The Billboard Music Awards, Hollywood Squares, The Teen Choice Awards and Celebrity Duets.
51 Minds Entertainment is a production company specializing in reality TV, known for their "celebreality" programs on VH1. It was created in 2004 as a merger between Cris Abrego's 51 Pictures and Mark Cronin's Mindless Entertainment. In 2005, the company signed a two-year, seven series production deal with VH1. The company has been credited in helping revive VH1 ratings during this time. In 2008, the company was purchased by Endemol.
A.N.T. Farm is an American teen sitcom that originally aired on Disney Channel from May 6, 2011, to March 21, 2014. It first aired on May 6, 2011, as a special one-episode preview and continued as a regular series starting on June 17, 2011. After airing as the preview of the series, the pilot episode "transplANTed" later re-aired after the series finale of The Suite Life on Deck. The series was created by Dan Signer, a former writer and co-executive producer of The Suite Life on Deck and creator of the Disney XD/YTV series Mr. Young. In mid-November 2010, Disney Channel greenlit the series, with production beginning in early 2011. The first promo was released during the premiere of Lemonade Mouth.
After Lately is an American television comedy. The series depicts, in mockumentary style, the behind the scenes goings-on at the office of the late-night talk show Chelsea Lately. The cast is made up of the actual writers and performers of Chelsea Lately, who play themselves as they suffer the indignities and relish the perks of show business, bicker and argue over trivial and petty matters, compete for show air time and personal approval from Chelsea, and produce a nightly late-night cable comedy show. Celebrity guest stars regularly appear, playing parody versions of themselves, interacting with Chelsea and the cast. The series began airing on E! on March 6, 2011.
Love & Hip Hop is a media franchise that consists of several reality television series broadcast on VH1. The shows document the personal and professional lives of several hip hop and R&B musicians, performers, managers, and record producers residing in various metropolitan areas of the United States. The original franchise version, Love & Hip Hop: New York, premiered on March 6, 2011. Its success resulted in spin-offs based in Atlanta, Hollywood, and Miami.
R&B Divas: Atlanta is an American reality television series that premiered TV One starring several R&B singers. The show offers an inside look at how the award-winning singers balance their music careers and personal lives as they work towards producing an album in memory of Whitney Houston. The series premiered on August 20, 2012, with the premiere delivering a ratings record for TV One, with almost 900,000 viewers tuning in for the show's first episode.
Love Broker is an American reality documentary television series on Bravo. The series debuted on March 5, 2012 and follows Lori Zaslow as she creates love connections in New York City. On March 16, 2012, Bravo pulled the series from its broadcasting schedule due to low viewership. The series later returned on July 24, 2012.
Below Deck is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on July 1, 2013. The show chronicles the lives of the crew members who work and reside aboard a superyacht during charter season.
Hollywood Game Night is an American television game show that aired on NBC from July 11, 2013, to July 5, 2020. The series, which is hosted by Jane Lynch, follows two contestants who take part in a casual game night with three celebrities each, making the main episode a game between two four-player teams. Five games are played on each episode, with teams accumulating points based on their performance in each of the games. After the fifth game, the contestant on the team with the most points competes in a bonus round with one of the episode's celebrities. The chosen celebrity plays for a chance to win $10,000 for a charity of his or her choice, while the contestants compete to win $25,000.
Love & Hip Hop: New York is the original installment of the Love & Hip Hop reality television franchise on VH1. The series premiered on March 6, 2011, and chronicles the lives of several people in New York City, involved with hip hop music. The show features appearances from notable figures associated with East Coast hip hop. Its success has produced the spin-offs Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, Chrissy & Mr. Jones, Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood, K. Michelle: My Life, Stevie J & Joseline: Go Hollywood, Leave It to Stevie, Love & Hip Hop: Miami and Remy & Papoose: Meet the Mackies.
Idiotest is an American television game show broadcast by Game Show Network (GSN). Hosted by Ben Gleib, the series features contestants in teams of two competing to answer brain teaser and puzzle questions. The winning team advances to a bonus round for an opportunity to increase their winnings to $10,000. The series was announced at GSN's upfront presentation in March 2014, and the first episode premiered on August 12, 2014 of that year. On December 15, 2018, the first season became available to watch on Netflix.
Below Deck Mediterranean is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on May 3, 2016. Developed as the first spin-off of Below Deck, it has aired seven seasons. The eighth season premiered on September 25, 2023.
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Below Deck Down Under is an American reality television series that premiered on Peacock on March 17, 2022. The show is the third spin-off of Below Deck, following Below Deck Mediterranean and Below Deck Sailing Yacht. Announced in February 2022, the series chronicles the lives of the crew members who work and reside aboard a 150-foot-plus superyacht during a six week charter season in Australia. Aesha Scott, the series' chief stew, previously appeared on Below Deck Mediterranean. Captain Jason Chambers made Australian headlines in 2019 after an accident where he crashed a superyacht into a wharf in Queensland. In May 2023, it was announced that the series would be permanently moving from Peacock to Bravo. The second season of the series began airing on July 17, 2023.