Darnell lands a job as president of unscripted and alternative programming on Warner Bros. Television Group.
- Jul 19, 2013
AceShowbiz - Mike Darnell has landed a new job after leaving FOX. The reality TV guru will be joining Warner Bros. Television Group as president of unscripted and alternative programming and syndicated fare, reporting to Warner Bros. TV president Peter Roth.
The move will put him in charge of unscripted shows produced by Warner Horizon, including "American Idol" rival "The Voice" and ABC's long-running franchise "The Bachelor". He will begin his new job on August 12.
"It's what I wanted to do, which is to stretch my fingers out," Darnell tells The Hollywood Reporter about his new position, which will have him focused on both broadcast and cable, and has been created specifically for him. "There are so many more platforms out there now and Warner Bros. has a great presence in all of them."
Darnell's hiring is the first major move by Roth since he was elevated to run the studio in January. The two have worked together in the past when Roth was president of Fox Entertainment from 1996-1999.
Following Darnell's departure from FOX, where he had served for 18 years, the company appointed the News Corp. senior executive vice president David Hill to take over Darnell's duties of overseeing the production on "Idol" and "The X Factor (US)". The company still hasn't announced a name to fill the post left by Darnell.
