Arthur Smith Brings Passion to Reality

Dwayne The Rock Johnson took to social media in September 2018 to detail a dream he had about creating a platform for people to showcase their best athletic self, but which needed the perfect partner to turn the dream into reality.

Arthur Smith

Zach Lyons

That partner is Arthur Smith, Johnson declared in the post. Johnson's dream platform turned into The Titan Games, NBC's successful freshman competition series that the former WWE star launched in 2019 with Smith, the founder of production company A. Smith & Co. (ASC) and chairman of ASC parent company Tinopolis USA.

Titan Games, in which everyday people compete in endurance-based mental and physical challenges, is one of more than 180 reality, unscripted and documentary series produced under the tutelage of Smith and his ASC banner since the company launched 20 years ago. Several of his shows, including Fox's culinary cookoff Hell's Kitchen and NBC's obstacle course-based series American Ninja Warrior, helped define the genre of competition-based reality shows.

Arthur understands that great storytelling requires ultimate dedication and an unrelenting desire for excellence, said Meredith Ahr, NBC Entertainment president of the alternative & reality group. When I am working with Arthur, whether it is on American Ninja Warrior or The Titan Games, I am keenly aware that I am dealing with a producer who thinks big, wants to win, and will put in the daily reps to ensure that every detail of the production is first class and a reflection of our collective ambition.

Arthur Smith and A-lister Dwayne The Rock Johnson joined forces for NBC's reality competition series The Titan Games.

Vivian Zink/NBC

From long-running shows like TV One's documentary music series Unsung to new series like TLC's off-the-grid reality show Welcome to Plathville and streaming service BET 's docuseries American Gangster: Trap Queens, the Canadian-born Smith is known for his ability to create successful unscripted content that entertains viewers while bringing out the best qualities of the world-class talent and everyday people who participate in his shows.

Arthur Smith and his team really understand how to make great television, said Jason Ryan, executive producer in charge of production for Unsung, which Smith has produced since its debut in 2008. People know TV One for Unsung [and Smith's] knowledge and passion for the show has really made the show special.

Mark Darnell, president of unscripted and alternative television at Warner Bros., who worked with Smith in the 1980s on a number of projects including Hell's Kitchen, said Smith has the uncanny ability to turn the simplest of ideas into a successful production.

He's an extraordinarily talented and driven producer, Darnell said. He's unbelievably collaborative. Over the years, if I had an idea or a nugget of a concept, I'd go to Arthur and he would take it and make it work in a way that very few producers can.

Chef Gordon Ramsay and contestant Ariel in Foxs "Hells Kitchen".

Fox

Smith cut his production teeth in the sports production at Canada's CBC, where he produced the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics, and with Fox Sports in the late 1990s, helping to launch the company's first regional sports networks. In between his sports producing stints, Smith got his first taste of the entertainment business as senior VP of Dick Clark Productions in 1990.

Coming from such an unconventional and atypical background in sports has allowed him to approach more entertainment programming in a slightly different way, said Brandon Riegg, Netflix VP of unscripted originals and acquisitions, who has worked with Smith on Death by Magic as well as two other yet-to-be announced shows.

While his passion is for producing shows, Smith is equally comfortable in the C-suite as chairman of Tinopolis USA which bought A. Smith & Co. in 2011 where he oversees a portfolio of Emmy-nominated content from such companies as Magical Elves. Under Smith's leadership, Elves and ASC combined for three of the six 2019 primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Reality Competition series: Elves's Top Chef and Nailed It! and ASC's American Ninja Warrior. Smith is also comfortable with top talent. He has collaborated with such celebrities as Ellen DeGeneres, who will host Ellen's Home Design Challenge for HBO Max; actor Rob Lowe, host of Fox's unscripted series Mental Samurai; and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, host of Hell's Kitchen.

Arthur Smith's quick rapport with chef Gordon Ramsay was a key ingredient in the success of "Hell's Kitchen".

He's great with talent, Darnell said. When I first brought Gordon Ramsay out here, he had never done an American television show, and Arthur and him got along amazingly. I also think that he's a very fast learner. He's terrific at taking a concept and making it into a reality.

Johnson in his Instagram post also showered Smith with praise, saying that while my big head may be in front of the camera, this man [Smith] is the magic maker.

Smith's prolific TV series production accomplishments along with his infectious enthusiasm and passion for producing has earned Smith and his company, A. Smith & Co., B C's Producer of the Year award for 2020. Smith spoke with B C senior content producer R. Thomas Umstead about his company's 20-year run of success, as well as his vision for the future. Here's an edited transcript of their conversation.

B C: What would you consider to be the show that put you and A. Smith & Co. on the map?

Arthur Smith: When I started my company, I didn't know what reality television was, I just knew nonfiction was my role. I used to read encyclopedias as a kid before there was the internet. I always read biographies. I was totally into

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