Undercover Boss | |
---|---|
Intertitle | |
Genre | Reality television |
Created by | Stephen Lambert |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
No. of series | 6 |
No. of episodes | 33 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Running time | 60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
Production company(s) | Studio Lambert |
Distributor | All3Media |
Release | |
Original network | Channel 4 |
Picture format | 576i |
Audio format | Stereo |
Original release | 15 June 2009 – 20 August 2014 |
Chronology | |
Related shows | Undercover Boss |
External links | |
Website | |
Production website |
Undercover Boss is a British reality television series. Each episode depicts a person who has a high management position at a major business, deciding to become undercover as an entry-level employee to discover the faults in the company. The first series, consisting of two episodes was aired in 2009 followed by a second series consisting of six episodes one year later. This original series sparked the Undercover Boss franchise. [1] Localised versions of the show format are currently being produced in the United States, France, Australia, Germany and Canada.
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unknown individuals rather than professional actors. Reality television came to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s with the global successes of the series Survivor, Idols, and Big Brother, all of which became global franchises. Reality television shows tend to be interspersed with "confessionals", short interview segments in which cast members reflect on or provide context for the events being depicted on-screen. Competition-based reality shows typically feature gradual elimination of participants, either by a panel of judges or by the viewership of the show.
Undercover Boss is a television franchise series created by Stephen Lambert and produced in many countries. It originated in 2009 on the British Channel 4. The show’s format features the experiences of senior executives working undercover in their own companies to investigate how their firms really work and to identify how they can be improved, as well as to reward hard-working employees.
Undercover Boss is an American reality television series, based on the British series of the same name and produced by Studio Lambert in both countries. Each episode depicts a person who has an upper-management position at a major business, deciding to go undercover as an entry-level employee to discover the faults in the company. The first season consisted of nine episodes produced in 2009 and first aired on February 7, 2010, on CBS. Companies that appear on the series are assured that the show will not damage their corporate brands.
Each episode features a high-positioned executive or the owner of a corporation going undercover as an entry-level employee in their own company. The executive changes their appearance and assumes an alias and fictional back-story. The fictitious explanation for the accompanying camera crew is that the executive is being filmed as part of a documentary about entry-level workers in a particular industry. They spend approximately one week undercover, working in various areas of the company's operations, with a different job and in most cases a different location each day. The boss is exposed to a series of predicaments with amusing results. They invariably spend time getting to know the people who work in the company, learning about their professional and personal challenges.
A pseudonym or alias is a name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which can differ from their first or true name (orthonym).
At the end of their week undercover, the boss returns to their true identity and requests the employees he worked with individually to corporate headquarters. The boss reveals their identity and rewards hardworking employees through campaign, promotion or financial rewards. Other employees are given training or better working conditions.
The first series of Undercover Boss was broadcast in 2009 and consisted of two episodes. [2] A second series was commissioned and was aired in 2010 featuring seven episodes, six with new companies and a return visit to the business where it all started to see what impact the show had in the longer term. [3] Subsequent series have been produced annually with the most recent being broadcast in 2014. [4]
Selected episodes of the UK version of Undercover Boss air in the United States on TLC and OWN, as part of Undercover Boss: Abroad. [5] [6]
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The Secret Millionaire is a reality television show which originated in the UK, in which millionaires go incognito into impoverished communities and agree to give away tens of thousands of pounds. Members of the community are told the cameras are present to film a documentary. The UK version is produced by production company RDF Media. It first aired in 2006 on Channel 4, with further series in subsequent years.
Studio Lambert is an independent television production company based in Los Angeles and London.
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Eli Holzman is an American creator–developer, writer, and producer known for creating or serving as executive producer on a number of reality-based television series, such as Project Runway, Project Greenlight, Beauty and the Geek, The Seven Five, Undercover Boss, and Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. He is the former head of Miramax Television, Ashton Kutcher's Katalyst Films, Studio Lambert, and All3Media America. He currently is the CEO of The Intellectual Property Corporation, which he founded in 2016. He has been nominated for 11 Primetime Emmy Awards for the television series' Project Greenlight, Project Runway,Undercover Boss, and United Shades of America, and has been nominated four times for "Television Producer of the Year Award" for non-fiction television by the Producers Guild of America.
Undercover Boss Australia is a localised version and third incarnation of the Undercover Boss franchise, the first series premiered on Network Ten on 18 October 2010 with the CEO of Domino's Pizza Australia, Don Meij. Each episode depicts a high-ranking executive or business owner acting as an entry-level employee to discover the problems in their company.
Undercover Boss is a 2011 Norwegian reality television series, based on the British series of the same name. Each episode depicts a person who has a high management position at a major business, deciding to become undercover as an entry-level employee to discover the faults in the company. The first series premiered on 8 March 2011 with the CEO of the grocery store chain Rimi.
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Undercover Boss Canada is a Canadian reality television series, based on the British series of the same name. Each episode depicts a person who has a high management position at a major Canadian business, deciding to become undercover as an entry-level employee to discover the faults in the company. The first season consisted of 10 episodes, and ran from February 2, 2012 to April 5, 2012, on W Network. On April 3, 2012, W Network, Alliance, and Corus ordered an additional 30 episodes for the series, to be split into four new seasons. The second season also consisted of 10 episodes, and aired from September 6, 2012 to November 8, 2012. The show's third season contained 10 episodes, and aired from January 17, 2013 to March 21, 2013.
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