"Reality TV's Cambrian moment was the debut of Big Brother, the first series to involve both 24/7 surveillance and audience-determined eliminations. Corie Henson, the former chief of unscripted at NBC and the current president of Beast Industries Studios, was a supervising producer at CBS at the time and witnessed the explosion of live-television tactics firsthand."
"When she moved to ABC, she worked across American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. "I was in the room when we bought Shark Tank," she says. "I helped pick the Sharks who are still mostly sitting in those seats to this day.""
"She went "back over to the dark side" after that, taking positions at Fox, then Turner, and finally NBC. While Love Island and The Traitors were cementing Peacock as reality's buzziest streamer, Henson developed Deal or No Deal Island, which she calls "a fresh take on something nostalgic" and canceled ahead of its time."
"She finally landed at Beast Industries Studios, the home of Beast Games, an outlandish competition series from Jimmy Donaldson, better known as his YouTube persona MrBeast. " I was in the buyer seat when they took it out," she says. "I was one of several people who made an offer on it and didn't get it.""
Big Brother debuted as the first reality series to pair continuous 24/7 surveillance with audience-determined eliminations, creating a new model for live television. Corie Henson, with experience across live news, sports, and major unscripted franchises, witnessed the rise of these tactics while working at CBS. She later worked across ABC programs including American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and helped acquire Shark Tank, including selecting the Sharks. After roles at Electus, Fox, Turner, and NBC, she developed Deal or No Deal Island, which was canceled early. She later joined Beast Industries Studios, where she helped pursue Beast Games, and the franchise moved to Amazon Prime with a record $10 million prize.
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