Arthur Smith, the chairman of A. Smith & Co. Productions, is a pioneering veteran of nonfiction television, known for creating and producing some of the longest-running unscripted series in history, including Hell’s Kitchen and American Ninja Warrior. Smith was honored as one of Variety’s “Titans of Unscripted TV” in 2022, inducted into the Realscreen Awards Hall of Fame in 2021, awarded Broadcasting & Cable’s “Producer of the Year” in 2020, has been nominated for several Emmy Awards, and has received dozens of industry honors and awards. Smith embarked on his career in television as a 22-year-old wunderkind, talking his way into sports production at CBC in his native Canada. He quickly distinguished himself as a rising star at the network, where he produced three Olympic Games among countless other high-profile events. At the age of 28, Smith was named the youngest-ever head of CBC Sports. His successful run at the network ended when American broadcasting icon Dick Clark lured him to Hollywood to develop and produce a wide variety of entertainment programming. Then as the head of programming and production at FOX Sports Net, Smith played an instrumental role in the launch and growth of this massive entity, before the biggest reach of his life—the creation of his eponymous production company that has since thrived for more than twenty years and counting. Smith’s proceeds from this book support the REACH Foundation. |
