James Mark Burnett is a British television producer and author of ten books who is the former Chairman of MGM Worldwide Television Group. He created The Apprentice, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? and Shark Tank, and produced the reality shows Survivor, The Voice, Beat Shazam, and Generation Gap.
Television series produced by Burnett have been nominated for a total of 151 Emmys. He has personally won twelve Emmy Awards, five Producers Guild of America Awards, twelve Critics' Choice Television Awards, and ten People's Choice Awards. As of 2024, Burnett is the executive producer of five current network television shows, as well as several cable series. For five consecutive years, Burnett has been included in the Variety500, an index of the 500 most influential business leaders shaping the global media industry.
Under Burnett's leadership, MGM has expanded its cable TV business through the acquisitions of Evolution Media (Botched, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, The Real Housewives of Orange County) and of Big Fish Entertainment (Live PD and Black Ink Crew).
Burnett co-created and produced with his wife Roma Downey the Christian media series The Bible and A.D. The Bible Continues, and produced the feature films Son of God, Little Boy, Woodlawn, and Ben-Hur.
Variety recognized Burnett and his wife Roma Downey as "trailblazers" and The Hollywood Reporter has included the couple in their "Most Influential People" lists. Downey and Burnett delivered the keynote address and accepted honorary doctorate degrees at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management commencement ceremony.In February 2016, Downey and Burnett gave the keynote address at the National Prayer Breakfast held in Washington DC by President Obama and in 2017 Burnett was invited to give remarks again at President Trump's first National Prayer Breakfast to a vast amount of world leaders in attendance.
In 2024, Burnett won a People's Choice Award and is nominated for multiple Critics Choice TV Awards.
