Poznick joins Burnett at MGM

Mark Burnett, president of MGM Television and Digital Group, has recruited the co-founder of Zoo Productions to oversee unscripted content at the US studio.

Barry Poznick

Reality TV veteran Barry Poznick is joining MGM as head of unscripted programming, having most recently been with Barracuda Productions, which he formed with US-based multimedia studio Electus in 2013.

Prior to that, Poznick spent almost two decades at reality outfit Zoo Productions, which was acquired by All3Media in 2008 and was behind formats such as Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?.

Poznick and Burnett worked together on the latter show, as well as numerous others.

Burnett was placed at the top of MGM’s TV business at the beginning of this year, resulting in the departure of head of television and digital Roma Khanna.

Among the MGM-produced shows currently in production in the US are The Voice (NBC), Survivor (CBS), Shark Tank (ABC), Fargo (FX) and Celebrity Apprentice (NBC).