Michael Davies (television producer)

Last updated

Michael Davies
Born
Michael Peterson Davies

(1966-03-03) 3 March 1966 (age 57)
London, England
OccupationTelevision producer [1]
Years active1990–present
Known forExecutive producer of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (1999-2010, 2020-2021)
Co-host of Men in Blazers (2014–present)
Executive producer of Jeopardy! (2021–present)
Spouses
  • Selena Richards
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1989;div. 1992)​
    [2] [3]
  • Claude Davies
    ​
    (divorced)​
Children4

Michael Peterson Davies [4] (born 3 March 1966) is a United States-based British television game shows producer. [5] He is best known for bringing the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire to American television. Since 2014, he has hosted a podcast entitled Men in Blazers alongside journalist Roger Bennett. Since 2021, he has served as the executive producer of the game show Jeopardy! following Mike Richards' departure from the program due to various controversies.

Contents

Early life

Davies grew up in Blackheath, London [6] and attended Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, graduating from the University of Edinburgh. He is the younger brother of opera singer Rebecca de Pont Davies and screenwriter William Davies.

Career

Early career

In the early 1990s, Davies served as a development associate at Merv Griffin Enterprises. [7] For a time afterward, he served as a senior vice president at Buena Vista Productions (a subsidiary of Disney). [8] In February 1998, Davies joined ABC as executive vice president. [8] During this time, he served as a programming executive at WABC-TV, an ABC affiliate in New York City. [9] He also served as the head of the network's reality programming division. [10]

Diplomatic Productions

On December 12, 2000, Davies founded Diplomatic Productions, his first production company, with the help of ABC and Disney. [11] On May 12, 2005, Diplomatic folded into Embassy Row after Davies joined forces with entertainment marketer Tera Banks and LivePlanet co-founder and former CEO Chris Moore.

Blogger

In 2002 and 2006, Davies wrote a blog about the 2002 FIFA World Cup and 2006 FIFA World Cup for ESPN.com. [12] [13]

Men in Blazers

Beginning in 2011, Davies and co-host and ESPNFC.com writer Roger Bennett, brought the Men in Blazers podcast to Grantland.com. The weekly podcast includes analysis of recent matches in the Premier League as well as coverage of the UEFA Champions League and various international fixtures, specifically the United States men's national soccer team games. [14]

The duo were invited to provide analysis and humorous segments for ESPN live from Rio de Janeiro during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, especially from Bob Ley's "Panic Room". [15] The duo did a live show from Portland, Oregon, for the 2014 MLS All-Star Game, interviewing the likes of Clint Dempsey and Alex Morgan while raising money for MLS Works and the Wounded Warrior Project. [16]

In September 2014, they conducted a New York City FC exclusive interview with Frank Lampard after Lampard joined NYCFC from Chelsea. [17] Fox Sports announced in April 2014 they had cancelled the Davies-produced program Crowd Goes Wild , a daily sports talk show from the national sports network Fox Sports 1. [18]

Ahead of the 2014–15 Premier League season, NBC Sports signed Davies and Bennett from ESPN for its English Premier League coverage and confirmed that Men in Blazers would have its own half-hour television show on Monday nights at 10 pm EST, starting 22 September 2014. [19] [20]

Davies and Bennett host the Men in Blazers channel on EA Sports Talk Radio on the official 2014 FIFA World Cup video game, with Andy Goldstein of TalkSPORT and Darke hosting the only other channel. [21]

Sony Pictures Television

Embassy Row

As president and CEO of Embassy Row, a New York City-based television production company that is a unit of Sony Pictures Television, he was the executive producer of Wife Swap . He produced ESPN's 2 Minute Drill , VH1's World Series of Pop Culture , CBS's Power of 10 , and the GSN originals: Chain Reaction , Grand Slam , and GSN's revival of The Newlywed Game , as well as the US version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire . [22]

Jeopardy!

In 2021, Sony appointed Davies to serve as interim executive producer of Jeopardy! when Mike Richards was let go after controversies came to light. [23] [nb 1] On April 14, 2022, Davies announced that he would be taking over the position full-time. [24] [25] So far, under Davies' tenure, he has created daily box scores for each episode, [26] creating a "Second Chance Tournament" to air before the show's "Tournament of Champions", [27] [28] creating a new holiday for the show entitled JeoparDAY! held on the show's birthday every year on March 30, [29] as well as creating daily recaps of the show known as Jeopardy! Highlights. [30]

In August 2022, Davies, along with former Jeopardy! Clue Crew member and current producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss and Jeopardy! champion Buzzy Cohen, began hosting a podcast about the game show entitled Inside Jeopardy! which takes a look behind the scenes from the quiz show like gameplay analysis, behind-the-scenes stories, official announcements, and special interviews. [30] [31] [32] [33]

Personal life

On December 28, 1989, Davies married Selena Richards in Reno, Nevada. [2] The couple divorced in 1992. [2] Afterwards, he married documentary producer Claude Davies whom he later divorced.[ citation needed ] He had a daughter, Brea, through his relationship with Selena and three children through his relationship with Claude. [3]

He is a fan of Chelsea F.C. [34]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2000 The 27th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Himself
2001 The 28th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Himself
2014Men in Blazers World Cup PreviewHost
2014-2015 Late Night with Seth Meyers Himself3 episodes
2015-2016 The Men in Blazers Show Host13 episodes
2018Rog & Davo's Guide to RussiaHimself10 episodes
CBS News Sunday Morning Himself1 episode
Cover Story Himself1 episode
2022 Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen Bartender1 episode
2022-presentInside Jeopardy!Host19 episodes

Notes

  1. ↑ Despite claims that Michael Davies will serve as an interim executive producer on Wheel of Fortune following Mike Richards' departure, he never actually assumed that role, with the show's senior producer Steve Schwartz serving as an uncredited interim executive producer for the rest of the show's 39th season before settling with Bellamie Blackstone in the 40th season.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayim Bialik</span> American actress, television personality, and author (born 1975)

Mayim Chaya Bialik is an American actress, author and former game show host. From 1991 to 1995, she played the title character of the NBC sitcom Blossom. From 2010 to 2019, she played neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, for which she was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2015 and 2017. Bialik shared hosting duties of Jeopardy! with Ken Jennings on a rotating basis between August 2021 and December 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Jennings</span> American game show host (born 1974)

Kenneth Wayne Jennings III is an American game show host, author, and former game show contestant. He is the highest-earning American game show contestant, having won money on five different game shows, including $4,522,700 on the U.S. game show Jeopardy! From 2021 to 2023, Jennings and Mayim Bialik alternated as hosts of that show, as well as Celebrity Jeopardy! In 2023, Jennings received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Game Show. In December 2023, Jennings was announced as Jeopardy's permanent main host.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Ley</span> American sports anchor and reporter

Robert A. Ley is an American sports anchor and reporter, best known for his work at ESPN. A multiple Emmy Award-winner, he was the longest-tenured on-air employee of the network, having joined ESPN just three days after the network's 1979 launch and retiring from the network effective at the end of June 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Gilbert</span> American announcer of Jeopardy!, former nightclub singer and entertainer

John Lewis Gilbert III is an American show business personality who has worked mainly on television game shows. Originally a nightclub singer and entertainer, he has hosted and announced a number of game shows from various eras, dating as far back as the 1950s. He is known primarily for his work as the announcer and audience host for the syndicated version of the quiz show Jeopardy! since its revival in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Stewart (television producer)</span> American television producer (1920–2012)

Bob Stewart was an American television game show producer. He was active in the TV industry from 1956 until his retirement in 1991.

Jeopardy! is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, in which contestants are presented with trivia clues in the form of answers and must phrase their responses in the form of a question. The show has experienced a long life in several incarnations over the course of nearly a half-century, spending more than 12 years as a daytime network program and having currently run in syndication for 39 seasons. It has also gained a worldwide following with a multitude of international adaptations.

Ian Darke is an English association football and boxing commentator who currently works for ESPN and TNT Sports. Darke was previously one of Sky's "Big Four" football commentators alongside Martin Tyler, Alan Parry and Rob Hawthorne. He was also the main commentator for Sky's big boxing fights and along with Jim Watt, covered some of the biggest fights involving British boxers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Dasey</span> Australian journalist

Jason Dasey is an Australian TV and radio broadcaster, journalist, emcee and media executive. He works for Australian and international companies, including ABC News, Nine Radio and APAC Network. He is best known for being the first Australian sports host on CNN International and BBC World News and the original anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter Asia and SportsCenter India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Richards (television personality)</span> American television personality and producer

Michael Richards is an American television producer, game show host, and television personality. He was the executive producer of the American television game shows Let's Make a Deal and The Price Is Right from 2009 to 2019, and of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune from 2020 to 2021.

Embassy Row is an American television, global-based format, and digital production company based in New York City and a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television. It was founded in 2005 by British television producer Michael Davies.

<i>Wheel of Fortune</i> (American game show) American television game show

Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show has aired continuously since January 1975. It features a competition in which contestants solve word puzzles, similar to those in hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a giant carnival wheel. The current version of the series, which airs in nightly syndication, premiered on September 19, 1983. It stars Pat Sajak and Vanna White as hosts, who have hosted the nighttime version since its inception. The original version of Wheel was a network daytime series that ran on NBC from January 6, 1975, to June 30, 1989, and subsequently aired on CBS from July 17, 1989, to January 11, 1991; it returned to NBC on January 14, 1991, and was cancelled that year, ending on September 20, 1991.

Jeopardy! is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given general knowledge clues in the form of answers and they must identify the person, place, thing, or idea that the clue describes, phrasing each response in the form of a question.

The Chase is an American television quiz show adapted from the British program of the same name. It premiered on August 6, 2013, on the Game Show Network (GSN). It was hosted by Brooke Burns and featured Mark Labbett as the "chaser". A revival of the show premiered on January 7, 2021, on ABC. It is hosted by Sara Haines and initially featured as the chasers Jeopardy! champions James Holzhauer, Ken Jennings, and Brad Rutter. Labbett returned as a chaser in June 2021, before stepping down in 2022 along with Jennings. In their place are Buzzy Cohen, Brandon Blackwell, and Victoria Groce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Bennett (journalist)</span> British-American broadcaster, filmmaker, author

Roger James Bennett is a British-American broadcaster, podcaster, and filmmaker. He hosts multiple podcasts and founded the Men in Blazers Media Network. In June 2021, Bennett released a memoir entitled Reborn in the USA: An Englishman's Love Letter to his Chosen Home which debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List.

Men in Blazers is a New York City-based television show, podcast, and digital brand, founded, operated and hosted by Roger Bennett and Michael Davies covering global soccer and its reception in the United States. The two met at a wedding reception in New York, which prevented them from being able to watch the 2006 World Cup Final. Bennett noticed Davies sulking at the bar and struck up a conversation.

Anthony "Tony" Vinciquerra is an American film executive who is the current Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. He was previously president and CEO of Fox Networks Group.

Austin David "Buzzy" Cohen is a recording music industry executive and trivia enthusiast from Los Angeles, California, best known for his association with the game show Jeopardy!. Cohen was the winner of the 2017 Tournament of Champions and later appeared in the All-Star Games in 2019 and as a guest host for the show's 2021 Tournament of Champions following longtime host Alex Trebek's death.

Matthew Benjamin Amodio is an American mathematician and game show contestant who won 38 consecutive games on the game show Jeopardy! in 2021, the third-longest streak in the show's history, behind Ken Jennings and Amy Schneider. A PhD student in computer science at Yale University, he won $1,519,601 in 39 appearances on Jeopardy!, making him the third millionaire contestant on the show in regular-season play. Across all American game shows, he is the eleventh highest-earning contestant of all time. His run on the show has been called the "Amodio Rodeo".

<i>Jeopardy! National College Championship</i> American Quiz show tournament

Jeopardy! National College Championship is a special tournament series of the quiz show Jeopardy! that aired on ABC from February 8 to 22, 2022.

References

  1. ↑ "Men in Blazers – Michael Davies". Meninblazers.wikispaces.com. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Burke, Cathy (15 December 1999). "Golden Boy Tarnished – ABC TV Exec'S Ex Drags Him To Court Over Child Support". New York Post . Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Hitched, Hatched, Hired". The Hollywood Reporter . 3 October 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  4. ↑ Davies, Michael; Whitcomb-Foss, Sarah (27 March 2023). "What is a Come-From-Behind Win?". Inside Jeopardy! (Podcast). Retrieved 3 April 2023– via YouTube.
  5. ↑ "Profile". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  6. ↑ "With Abigail Savage". Men in Blazers. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "A Note From Jeopardy! EP Michael Davies". Jeopardy.com. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  8. 1 2 "Buena Vista executive joins ABC". Electronic Media. 2 February 1998. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2024– via EBSCO Host Connection.
  9. ↑ McNear, Claire (16 May 2023). "Is 'Jeopardy!' a Sport? Its New EP Certainly Thinks So". The Ringer . Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". Gameshow Hall of Fame. 21 January 2007. GSN.
  11. ↑ Schneider, Michael (12 December 2000). "DAVIES PACTS WITH DISNEY, ABC". Variety . Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014– via EBSCO Host Connection.
  12. ↑ Davies, Michael (2002). "Blog of the 2002 World Cup by Michael Davies". ESPN.com. p. 2. Retrieved 9 June 2003.
  13. ↑ Davies, Micharl (2006). "Blog of the 2006 World Cup by Michael Davies". ESPN.com. p. 2. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  14. ↑ "Men in Blazers". Meninblazers.wikispaces.com. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  15. ↑ Men in Blazers Boot Room Extra – 2014 FIFA World Cup, Day 5 (immediately after United States 2-1 Ghana), YouTube.com. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  16. ↑ Men in Blazers at the 2014 MLS All-Star Game, YouTube.com; retrieved 11 November 2016.
  17. ↑ NYCFC Exclusive Interview – Frank Lampard (by the Men in Blazers), YouTube.com; retrieved 11 November 2016.
  18. ↑ Fox Sports 1 cancels Crowd Goes Wild, awfulannouncing.com; retrieved 4 July 2014.
  19. ↑ Connors, Will (10 August 2014). "Men in Blazers Jump to NBC". The Wall Street Journal.
  20. ↑ Prince-Wright, Joe (17 September 2014). ""The Men in Blazers Show" set for kick off on NBCSN". Prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com.
  21. ↑ Seven Reasons To Start Your 2014 FIFA World Cup Early, Easports.com; retrieved 11 November 2016.
  22. ↑ "ABC Quiz Show Asks Million-Dollar Question". lubbockonline.com. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  23. ↑ Michael Schneider (31 August 2021). "Mike Richards Fired as Executive Producer of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune". Variety . Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  24. ↑ Lesley Goldberg (14 April 2022). "Jeopardy Taps Michael Davies as Permanent Showrunner". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  25. ↑ "EP Michael Davies Reflects on a Producer's Role and His Future With the Show". Jeopardy.com. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  26. ↑ "EP Michael Davies Discusses Jeopardy! As A Sport, Introduces Daily Box Scores". Jeopardy.com. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  27. ↑ "A Jeopardy! Second Chance Tournament? EP Michael Davies Explains". Jeopardy.com. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  28. ↑ Jackson, Dory (11 February 2022). "'Jeopardy!' to Launch First-Ever Second Chance Tournament: 'So Excited,' Series EP Says". People . Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  29. ↑ "EP Michael Davies: JeoparDAY! Is Coming". Jeopardy.com. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  30. 1 2 "A Note From Jeopardy! EP Michael Davies: New Hosts and New Initiatives". Jeopardy.com. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  31. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (27 July 2022). "Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings Officially Set as Permanent 'Jeopardy!' Hosts". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  32. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (27 July 2022). "'Jeopardy!': Mayim Bialik & Ken Jennings Close Deals To Return, Season 39 Hosting Schedule Revealed". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  33. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (27 July 2022). "Mayim Bialik, Ken Jennings to Host Expanded 'Jeopardy' Franchise". Variety . Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  34. ↑ Davies, Michael [@embassydavies] (13 July 2018). "Like many Chelsea fans, I don't know how to move forward with the same passion for the club that I have supported since i was 4. I'm sure it will return, but for now I just feel numb and let down. Today I am grateful for England and my 2nd and 3rd clubs, @CPFC and @hfdathletic" (Tweet). Retrieved 20 January 2021– via Twitter.
Media offices
Preceded by Executive Producer of Jeopardy!
October 11, 2021-present		Succeeded by
Incumbent
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.