Matt Kunitz

Matt Kunitz (born November 5, 1968) is an American 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." Biography 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. The Wall Street Journal called Fear Factor "one of the biggest hits on TV -- and an important cash cow for NBC." Kunitz spent six years in an overall production deal with NBC Universal Studios. While at his career with 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 executive produced Wipeout, a 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 37 territories and Endemol has created an obstacle course in Argentina for those international editions. The second season of Wipeout premiered on May 27, 2009. It topped the 8 o'clock demos — So You Think You Can Dance included. With an audience of 9.69 million, Wipeout bested its Season 1 average and gave ABC its best numbers in the Wednesday-at-8 slot since November 2007. Kunitz explained to The New York Times that Wipeout “turned out to be a real family show,” and that has led to its success. Wipeout began its sixth season in May 2013. On March 29, 2014, the series won the 2014 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Reality Show for the third year in a row. On August 10, 2014, the series won the 2014 Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer TV Series. On March 26, 2010, Variety announced a new two-year deal between Endemol USA and Kunitz. On June 10, 2010, Variety announced that Kunitz will executive produce a new series for ABC, "101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow" On August 15, 2010, Wipeout was renewed for a fourth season.