- Mike Darnell, formerly the President of Warner Bros. Unscripted Television, is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of reality television. During his tenure at the studio he grew the unscripted portfolio exponentially, overseeing hundreds of series, from prime time formats to premium documentaries, consisting of over 2,000 hours of programming annually. Darnell and his team produced hit shows such as the long-running franchise "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette", Emmy-winning music competition "The Voice", as well as "Little Big Shots", "Mental Samurai", "Family Game Fight", "Ellen's Game of Games", plus the multi-Emmy winning "The Ellen DeGeneres Show", among others. In addition, he produced and oversaw the Emmy-nominated "Friends: The Reunion", and the "Harry Potter" 20th Anniversary documentaries, which quickly became the top two most-watched specials in the history of HBO Max.
Prior to Warner Bros, Darnell was President of Alternative Entertainment at Fox Broadcasting, where he spent 19 years creating, developing and overseeing hundreds of iconic and highest-rated franchises on television. Darnell was known for launching and overseeing the mega-hit "American Idol", where he was in charge of the series for its first 12 seasons while it quickly became a pop culture phenomenon and was easily the highest rated show on the air, elevating Fox as the #1 network for a record of 8 consecutive seasons. Darnell also made TV history with "Joe Millionaire" (in which he created and oversaw) when the finale reached 40 million viewers and still remains the most-watched unscripted telecast on television. Darnell also oversaw hit franchises, such as "Temptation Island", "Hell's Kitchen", "MasterChef", "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader", "The X Factor", "So You Think You Can Dance", as well the creation of the famed animated series "Family Guy", among others.
After starting his career at the local KTTV news division, Darnell was able to make his way to the main Fox network where he quickly made a name for himself as he fast-tracked the genre with more than sixty specials per year and breaking numerous ratings records, including breakout shows like "Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction?", "Magic's Biggest Secrets Revealed", "World's Scariest Police Chases", and "When Animals Attack!".
Born in Philadelphia, Mike and his family moved to Los Angeles at a young age to pursue his career as a child actor. He voiced or appeared in over 60 commercials and was also featured in several TV series, which included "Sanford and Son", "Kojak", "Gimme a Break", "Big John Little John", and "Welcome Back Kotter".
- IMDb mini biography by: Warner Bros Entertainment Official Site Bio
- SpousesCarolyn Oberman-Darnell(199? - present)Carolyn Oberman-Darnell(199? - present) (1 child)
- Children
- Joined Fox network in 1994 as its director of specials, which included Alien Autopsy: (Fact or Fiction?) (1995). Rose to president of Alternative Entertainment of the Fox Network. In 2000, The YTimes called him 'the Svengali of sometimes gruesome, sometimes comical specials that took television to new heights - or depths - of perversity.'.
- A graduate of California State University at Northridge.
- Wife Carolyn Oberman and Mike were neighbors growing up. A public relations, she once worked for the EMMY awards.
- Started his TV programming career work at Fox's new Los Angeles affiliate KTTV in the 1990s.
- When he was 12, his family moved from his native Philadelphia to Southern California, where he started his acting career, first in commercials and then and in small roles on Welcome Back, Kotter (1975), Sanford and Son (1972), and Kojak (1973).
- [re 'American Idol's once huge audience] I don't think that's possible in television anymore...How many times have you heard that 'SNL.' is dead?" Then a new crop comes in and it's a big success again. There's something about these brands; the audience wants to like them.
- I get asked, 'What do you think the social responsibility of your shows is?' The truth is, I'm in entertainment, not in news. I don't know what the social responsibility of Seinfeld (1989) is...I will do almost anything for a good number. As long as it doesn't hurt me, the company or my audience. I don't cross into human suffering, making fun of a hurting person.
- [re Fox network] Being a young network, we didn't have Miss America or the Oscars.''So the thought was, 'How can we invent stuff?'...I think people just want to be entertained. I'm not saying people are dumb. I'm saying people are like me, and I'm not dumb. It's like pizza. It doesn't matter what your SAT scores were or how much money you make, most people like pizza.
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