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Mark Cronin | |
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| Occupation(s) | Television producer, writer |
Mark Cronin is an American television producer and writer.
Cronin grew up in the Philadelphia suburb ofUpper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. He graduated fromUpper Darby High School and theUniversity of Pennsylvania. At the later, he earned a degree inChemical Engineering and was in the cast of theMask and Wig Club. He spent five years working as an engineer in research and marketing.[1] His first job in entertainment was moonlighting as a freelance joke writer for an Ace Award-winning news-break spoof onNick at Nite calledGlobal Village News.[citation needed]
Cronin switched careers permanently when he joinedHoward Stern's nationally syndicated Saturday night television showThe Howard Stern Show as a staff writer in 1991.[2] His responsibilities expanded to include scripting entire episodes, producing celebrity interviews, and producing comedic field pieces.[3] He went on to contribute to Stern's national radio show[citation needed] and serve as producer/writer on his television and video projects, including Stern'sNew Year's Rotten Eve pay per view special[4] — the most watched entertainment pay per view event of all time.[5] Cronin also scripted an entireE! Entertainment special for Stern's book,Miss America.[6]
In 1995, he moved to Los Angeles to become head writer forMTV's dating showSingled Out withChris Hardwick andJenny McCarthy. He eventually was promoted to show-runner for two seasons. In 1996, he joined the Fox network, supervising production for their first prime-time game show,Big Deal. In 1997, he returned to late night and served as supervising producer forThe Keenen Ivory Wayans Show.[citation needed]
In 1997, Cronin foundedMindless Entertainment with then-partnerGary Auerbach, who left the company in 2001. The inspiration for the company name came from Cronin's mother, who called TV "that mindless entertainment".
Mindless' initial production slate includedThe X Show andThe New Movie Show with Chris Gore forFX;Beat the Geeks forComedy Central;America's Most Talented Kids forPAX; andCram andExtreme Dodgeball forGSN.
In 2004, Cronin's Mindless Entertainment teamed up withCris Abrego's 51 Pictures to form51 Minds Entertainment — the company that producedVH1's initial lineup of reality television. Anchored by the "Celebreality" flagship showThe Surreal Life, the company went on to create related shows includingStrange Love, withFlavor Flav andBrigitte Nielsen;My Fair Brady withChristopher Knight andAdrianne Curry;The Surreal Life Fame Games;Flavor of Love;I Love New York; andRock of Love. In 2008,Endemol USA acquired a controlling interest in 51 Minds in a deal reported to be worth upward of $200 million.[7]
In 2013 Cronin created and producedBelow Deck[8] for Bravo (which was the channel's highest rated, new show premiere of the year),Ghost Mine[9] for SyFy Channel (which garnered a second season order[10]),Cash Dome Pawn[11] for TruTV,Heroes of Cosplay[12] for SyFy Channel, andScrubbing In[13] for MTV.
In 2014, Cronin began producing under a new banner, Little Wooden Boat Productions. Under Little Wooden Boat, he became executive producer ofIdiotest on Game Show Network.Idiotest premiered its fourth season, Thursday, January 19, 2017.[14]
As of 2024,Below Deck has had continued success[15][16] with its audience and has completed eleven seasons. Season 4 was one of Bravo's fastest growing series[17] and season 11 just finished a successful run in early 2024.
WithBelow Deck's popularity, Cronin sold a spin-off show to Bravo called,Below Deck Mediterranean.[18] This series premiered May 3, 2016 and the season's ratings permitted Bravo to renew the show for a second season that premiered in 2017.[19]