Al Berman(II)
- Producer
Starting with the very first LIVE reveal on the season finale of Survivor on CBS, to his most recent production of the epic National Geographic, world-wide live event, Earth Live, Berman has continued to push the envelope in live television broadcasting over a career that has resulted in some of the most highly rated and groundbreaking shows in television history while logging more than 6000 hours of live network television and receiving 4 Emmy awards.
Specials and series like Survivor, The Apprentice, The Biggest Loser, Rockstar:Inxs, The Contender, The Simple Life, The Marriage Ref, Heaven Sent, Live From Space and Earth Live are just some of the outstanding broadcasts that Berman has produced since he formed his eponymous production company in 2000, specializing in live and live-to-tape event broadcasting.
Ever evolving, innovative and curious, Berman is always looking for new ways to entertain and enthrall the television audience. Recently, Berman created and executive produced Earth Live a wildlife, world-wide live 2-hour television event for National Geographic featured 59 live cameras from 25 locations in 15 countries on 6 continents. Heaven Sent on the FOX network featured the world's best skydiver Luke Aikins as he jumped from 5 miles up in the sky, without a parachute, and landed safely in a specially designed net. Live From Space featured a unique collaboration with NASA to produce an unprecedented 6 hours of live television from the International Space Station, 250 miles high in the atmosphere, and Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Working with London based Arrow Media the broadcast aired on National Geographic and on Channel 4 in the UK to spectacular reviews and a Prime Time Emmy award for Second Screen Experience. And he recently executive produced an NBC prime-time pilot starring Usher and Serena Williams.
Berman began his career in television news, culminating in 15 successful years in network news as the Executive Producer of such shows as CBS This Morning, The Early Show and America Tonight, and traveled the world with Dan Rather for the CBS Evening News. He ran special events coverage from Ground Zero on 9/11 and was Executive Producer of The Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
Berman's first challenge as an independent producer was to create a live broadcast for the final episode of the phenomenally successful hit show Survivor. As Executive Producer along with Mark Burnett, Berman created the "live reveal" and originated a template for the reunion shows/live finales that are ubiquitous on broadcast and cable television today. Nearly 60 million viewers watched as Richard Hatch won the first season of Survivor on CBS, 29 million viewers for the first season finale of The Apprentice on NBC, 11 millions viewers for The Biggest Loser on NBC and many millions of viewers for other finales including The Contender Live Finale from Caesar's Palace on NBC, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie's The Simple Life on Fox, Gold Rush on Discovery and the upcoming The Challenge XXX: Dirty Thirty finale on MTV.
Berman has also turned his talents to producing series television, such as the groundbreaking and prescient live music competition CBS series, Rockstar:INXS, the comedic NBC/Jerry Seinfeld series The Marriage Ref, and FX cable stalwart, The Ultimate Fighter Live, and used his expertise to produce broadcast network specials such as America: A Tribute to Heroes, ABC's Challenge America, America's Most Wanted Presents Judgment Night:DNA on FOX, NBC's America's Favorite Mom, NBC's Guinness World Records Live Top 100, and Fox's Stars in Danger to name a few.
Specials and series like Survivor, The Apprentice, The Biggest Loser, Rockstar:Inxs, The Contender, The Simple Life, The Marriage Ref, Heaven Sent, Live From Space and Earth Live are just some of the outstanding broadcasts that Berman has produced since he formed his eponymous production company in 2000, specializing in live and live-to-tape event broadcasting.
Ever evolving, innovative and curious, Berman is always looking for new ways to entertain and enthrall the television audience. Recently, Berman created and executive produced Earth Live a wildlife, world-wide live 2-hour television event for National Geographic featured 59 live cameras from 25 locations in 15 countries on 6 continents. Heaven Sent on the FOX network featured the world's best skydiver Luke Aikins as he jumped from 5 miles up in the sky, without a parachute, and landed safely in a specially designed net. Live From Space featured a unique collaboration with NASA to produce an unprecedented 6 hours of live television from the International Space Station, 250 miles high in the atmosphere, and Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Working with London based Arrow Media the broadcast aired on National Geographic and on Channel 4 in the UK to spectacular reviews and a Prime Time Emmy award for Second Screen Experience. And he recently executive produced an NBC prime-time pilot starring Usher and Serena Williams.
Berman began his career in television news, culminating in 15 successful years in network news as the Executive Producer of such shows as CBS This Morning, The Early Show and America Tonight, and traveled the world with Dan Rather for the CBS Evening News. He ran special events coverage from Ground Zero on 9/11 and was Executive Producer of The Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
Berman's first challenge as an independent producer was to create a live broadcast for the final episode of the phenomenally successful hit show Survivor. As Executive Producer along with Mark Burnett, Berman created the "live reveal" and originated a template for the reunion shows/live finales that are ubiquitous on broadcast and cable television today. Nearly 60 million viewers watched as Richard Hatch won the first season of Survivor on CBS, 29 million viewers for the first season finale of The Apprentice on NBC, 11 millions viewers for The Biggest Loser on NBC and many millions of viewers for other finales including The Contender Live Finale from Caesar's Palace on NBC, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie's The Simple Life on Fox, Gold Rush on Discovery and the upcoming The Challenge XXX: Dirty Thirty finale on MTV.
Berman has also turned his talents to producing series television, such as the groundbreaking and prescient live music competition CBS series, Rockstar:INXS, the comedic NBC/Jerry Seinfeld series The Marriage Ref, and FX cable stalwart, The Ultimate Fighter Live, and used his expertise to produce broadcast network specials such as America: A Tribute to Heroes, ABC's Challenge America, America's Most Wanted Presents Judgment Night:DNA on FOX, NBC's America's Favorite Mom, NBC's Guinness World Records Live Top 100, and Fox's Stars in Danger to name a few.
