WBTVG unscripted veteran Mike Darnell exiting after a decade

Mike Darnell

Mike Darnell, the president of unscripted and alternate television for Warner Bros, is exiting after a decade at the company.

His departure was announced yesterday by Channing Dungey, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG), who described Darnell as “an industry legend” and praised him for supercharging the unscrpted department during his tenure “by more than doubling the series output, making Warner Bros. the top unscripted studio in America for seven straight years.”

She added: “If there’s such a thing as a genius in this business, Mike definitely qualifies.”

Darnell, who joined in 2013, is considered to be one of the most influential executives in unscripted TV, with a statement from WBTVG claiming that he has “been responsible for more of the biggest unscripted titles than anyone else on the planet.”

During his time at WBTVG, he led the studio that produces top formats such as American Idol, The Voice and The Bachelor franchise.

His other credits include Hell’s Kitchen, Hotel Hell, Love Connection, the MasterChef franchise, So You Think You Can Dance, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, The Simple Life, X Factor, Little Big Shots, Paradise Hotel, My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé, Nanny 911, Ellen’s Game of Games, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and various Real Housewives shows.

Darnell revealed that he was approached by Dungey a couple of months ago, and was given the opportunity to stay at WBTVG, but that doing so “would have meant more changes for both my personal deal and to the general structure of the division.”

He further explained: “Call it fate, or just good timing, during my discussions with Channing, a couple of new ventures have come my way… even so, deciding to leave was difficult.”

Prior to WBTVG, Darnell served as served as the president of alternative entertainment at Fox, and several of the show he brought to tbe network are still running, or have recently been rebooted, including animations such as Family Guy and Futurama, and reality titles like American Idol, MasterChef and Temptation Island.