Ben Silverman

Apolo Ohno Makes a Guest Appearance on the Biggest Looser

The competition heats up as host Alison Sweeney of “The Biggest Looser” tells the final seven players that they will be competing in a pentathlon, and they can only rely on themselves because this week, the game goes to singles. The pentathlon winner gets the popular prize of immunity, while the loser gets a weigh-in drawback.

 The players get a very special surprise with the arrival of short track speed skater Apolo Ohno, the most decorated American Winter Olympic athlete of all time. “The experience on ‘The Biggest Loser’ was fantastic,” said Ohno. “It truly is about the contestants and helping them persevere through all obstacles. These people are all inspirations to the millions watching, and I wanted to squeeze every last percent of performance out of them so they could cross the line with zero regrets.” He added, “I love the show and what it stands for. It is exactly what we all need to see – people overcoming fears and obstacles to achieve their dreams.” 

"The Biggest Loser" is a production of Reveille, 25/7 Productions and 3 Ball Productions. Ben Silverman, Dave Broome, JD Roth, Todd A. Nelson and Todd Lubin are the executive producers.

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DiSanto and Gateley hit New Frontiers with DiGa

Former top MTV executives-turned-producers Tony DiSanto and Liz Gateley have  recently signed with WME. After their split with MTV in 2010, DiSanto and Gateley had been without agency representation. They left the cable network to launch DiGa, an independent production company set up as a partnership with Ben Silverman’s IAC-backed Electus.

At WME, DiGa will be represented by Sean Perry and Lance Klein on the unscripted side and by Ari Greenburg for scripted. Although DiSanto and Gateley have stared DiGa slowly they have grown the company by quietly selling a slew of reality and scripted projects and signing a number of talent development deals over the past 9 months

They continue to work as executive producers on the MTV series Teen Wolf, which the duo developed and are also attached to the Weinstein Co.’s “American Werewolf In London” remake. Between the two of them, DiSanto and Gateley, the duo has multiple series commitments at MTV where DiSanto served as president of programming and Gateley as head of series development. DiGa plans to stay independent but is open to partnering with studios on projects and is exploring new business models.

See more at Deadline

"The Office" Producer Aiming to Import "The Kitchen Musical" for U.S. Audiences

Written By: Adam Hetrick on Playbill.com

Emmy Award-winning producer Ben Silverman, who helped deliver "The Office" and "Ugly Betty" to American audiences, is at work on a new culinary musical series, according to Variety.

Titled "The Kitchen Musical," the series centers on a rich girl who graduates from Le Cordon Bleu and begins work at a restaurant. Silverman described the series as having "a cooking element, a musical, an 'Upstairs/Downstairs' dynamic and a little bit of Romeo and Juliet "

The series is currently being shot in Singapore and will debut in over 18 Asian countries this October. Silverman and his production studio Electus have negotiated a deal to create a U.S. version of "Kitchen," which they will begin pitching to studios in September.

Silverman is hoping to cash-in on the success of "Glee," with a possible franchise including a live stage tour, cookbooks and even a stage musical. He is currently lining up his production crew for the U.S. production, including an experienced director-choreographer.

Click here to view the original article on Playbill.com.

NBC’s “The Office” Grabs Four Emmy Nods

Hit mockumentary “The Office,” produced by Ben Silverman, grabbed four Emmy nominations last week. The series was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series for the sixth year in a row, but only won the award its first year on NBC in 2006. Among the other three nominations was Steve Carell for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. This is also the sixth year that Carell has been nominated for his portrayal of Michael Scott, branch manager at Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company’s Scranton Branch, but has yet to win the Emmy.

This year marks Carell’s last chance, as he announced months ago that he would leave the show to pursue his film career. His newest movie, “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” where he stars alongside Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, is due out later this month.

            "It is thrilling that ‘The Office’ is recognized as the best show on TV year in and year out,” Executive Producer Ben Silverman said. “Our writers and actors deliver at the highest level, and continue to make America laugh and relate."

Other nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series include “The Big Bang Theory,” “Glee,” “Modern Family,” “Parks and Recreation” and “30 Rock.” The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards will broadcast on Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. on Fox.

Former “Biggest Loser” Contest to Make 2012 Olympic Bid

Rulon Gardner was a contestant on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” produced by Ben Silverman. What many didn’t know, though, is he also was an Olympic champion in wrestling. Gardner won the gold medal back in 2000 after defeating Russian Alexander Karelin in a 1-0 match and the bronze medal in 2004 after defeating Sajad Barzi of Iran 3-0. After the Athens games, Gardner retired from the wrestling world. His retirement brought not only relaxation and time-off, but it also brought pounds. Lots of pounds.

So much weight, in fact, that Gardner, at 474 pounds, became a contestant on “The Biggest Loser” in order to get back into shape. During his time on the show, Gardner lost a whooping 185 pounds to drop down to 289 before exiting the show.

Now, the 39-year-old wants to step back into the ring, and has begun training for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Gardner hopes to be selected as part of the U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling team, but acknowledges that nearing 40 years of age, it might be quite a challenge. On Wednesday, the former Olympian was seen at Bruce Baumgartner and Tim Flynn's annual Heavyweight School for training.

“The Biggest Loser,” which is produced by Electus’ Ben Silverman, will return for its 12th season on Sept. 20 from 8-10 p.m. on NBC.

Ben Silverman: “The Office” is “So Strong” Going Into Next Season

Without star Steve Carell, many fear NBC’s hit comedy “The Office” may not be able to recover from the absence of simple-minded-yet-sweet Michael Scott. But former NBC exec and CEO of Electus Ben Silverman contends the opposite — that “The Office” is “so strong” going into its next season on the air, even without Carell, who left the show to focus on his movie career.

In an interview with “The Wrap,” Silverman said that “The Office” was one of the “most true ensembles on television” because of its ability to have so many characters that are well-developed. Because of the plethora of characters on the show, Silverman, who is an executive producer of the show, remains confident “The Office” will continue to have strong ratings even without Carell in the lead spot.

Though Ben Silverman won’t reveal who was chosen as the new boss for the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch, he said the move isn’t a replacement of Carell, but rather a progression of the show’s continually evolving plot lines and love stories. He did hint, though, that Carell may make guest appearances on a couple episodes.

“Obviously he's one of our partners and friends, and invested in the show,” Silverman said. “So he may appear.”

DumbDumb Awarded "Startup of the Year" by Forbes

Forbes announces “The Entrepreneur Behind The Icon” event to be held in celebration of the Forbes’ 13th annual Celebrity 100 List on June 8th, 2011, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. PT, at the Drai’s Hollywood. The Forbes Celebrity 100 Event will pay tribute to the entertainment industry’s most influential celebrity entrepreneurs and influencers. This will be an annual Forbes signature event.

 Congratulations to DumbDumb Productions, who have been awarded the title "Startup of the Year" byForbes. They were looking for an entertainment company that took a risk to build a business. This year’s Startup of the Year will be awarded to DumbDumb Productions, a sponsor-driven comedy enterprise led by Will Arnett and Jason Bateman in partnership with television and film producer, Ben Silverman.

Ben Silverman on the Importance of Show Names

Two years ago, Ben Silverman was asked about the problem with two “Saturday Night Live” types of shows that weren’t fulfilling their expected promise. He explained that there were too many numbers in the titles: “30 Rock and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” Was the sheer fact that there were numbers in the television shows’ titles the reason for their lack of giant success? Was the problem that simple? According to Ben Silverman, it was. And today, it seems like a lot more thought goes into the naming of a television show.

Take CBS, for example. Does the network think shows with “two” will succeed more than others? It seems so. Following the success (disregarding Charlie Sheen’s downfall, of course) of “Two and a Half Men,” CBS has added two new shows to its lineup: the drama series “2-2,” and “2 Broke Girls,” a comedy. “How” might be another popular word for the network to sneak into show titles. Already owning the popular sitcom “How I Met Your Mother,” CBS announced a new show, “How To Be a Gentleman.” Another trend that networks seem to have adopted is one-word names, like NBC’s “Smash,” ABC’s “Revenge and CW’s “Ringer.” After all, in a world of tweets that are capped at 140 characters, shorter is certainly sweeter.

Ben Silverman and “The Office” Crew Say Goodbye to Steve Carell

There are mere hours until the start of the final episode of season 7 of “The Office,” also known as “Steve Carell’s Last Episode.” The show has come a long way since Ben Silverman put it into production in 2005, helping grow the series into an Emmy Award-winning comedy. But tonight, the star of the show, Steve Carrel, will say goodbye to rest of the cast, as his character is moving away and leaving the company. The big question left to be answered, though: Who will replace him? Who is suitable to run Scranton’s Dunder Mifflin Paper Company?

Gossip and entertainment blogs have gone wild trying to learn who the replacement will be before an official announcement is made. Among the guesses so far are Catherine Tate, Ed Helms, Craig Robinson and Rainn Wilson. DumbDumb’s Will Arnett was another possible candidate, and while he might have been in serious contention, the announcement that his new NBC pilot “Up All Night” was picked up means that he’s most likely out of the running.  Stay tuned for more news about Ben Silverman and what’s to come of the show he made famous, “The Office.”

Spike TV Releases Details about Ben Silverman’s “The Sheriff”

Since Ben Silverman sold “The Sheriff” to Spike TV, many of the details concerning the non-scripted show have been under wraps. Now, the network is finally revealing information about the pilot of that show and others, which are all aimed at Spike TV’s core audience, males between the ages of 18 and 34.  

"Each pilot showcases real, genuine men immersed in situations where the stakes are truly significant," said Sharon Levy, the executive VP of original series at Spike TV.  "We are thrilled to partner with some of the brightest minds in the industry to unearth some of these larger-than-life characters." 

“The Sheriff” focuses on one man in particular—Tony Schiena, who has more than 15 years of experience in law enforcement, having worked in the intelligence community on three continents. The show will follow Schiena and his team as they battle crime, offering viewers a unique behind-the-scenes glimpse into the expert’s world, from gangs to drug cartels to dangerous criminals. Each week, they’ll visit a new department facing a different issue. Judging from Ben Silverman’s past success with non-scripted and reality programming, including “The Biggest Loser” and “Mob Wives,” the network has high hopes for “The Sheriff.” Silverman has also produced “The Office,” “Friday Night Lights” and “The Tudors,” among several other shows.