From American Ninja Warrior to American Gangster to Hell’s Kitchen, Arthur Smith and his A. Smith & Co. remain one of the most potent production engines for reality programming in the television business. 

With one of A. Smith’s latest creations, action-oriented game show Mental Samurai, which launched a new season on Fox May 25, Next TV managing editor Daniel Frankel caught up with the former Dick Clark Productions and MCA Universal executive, who’s come a long way from his days covering hockey for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.  while in his 20s. Here’s an edited transcript of their conversation. 

What’s the winning formula for an A. Smith & Co. Productions show? To start, I always insist that every A. Smith & Co. project must have three things: great casting, a solid concept or format and killer execution. Once those elements are in place, we strive to make our shows in a way that stands out and makes a strong emotional impact. When we look back on our shows that have really resonated, they have accomplished all of those goals.

What programming moments are you most proud of? It’s difficult to choose favorites after producing 5,000-plus hours of programming across 200-plus series, but the moment Kacy Catanzaro, all five feet, 95 pounds of her, shocked the world by becoming the first woman (and by far smallest competitor) to ever complete the American Ninja Warrior course was an incredible milestone that not only went viral and brought tremendous awareness to the show, but also started a women’s movement in the sport, dramatically increasing female participation in the following years. Similarly, after 300-plus episodes of Hell’s Kitchen there are countless moments that stand out — like our 19 amazing chefs who have been crowned winners, or the completely overwhelmed chef who cried during the opening night pep talk, and the misguided chef who challenged Gordon Ramsay to a fight — but something happens in season 20 (which premiered May 31 on Fox) that ranks among the craziest moments ever.

Is A. Smith focusing on the streaming market these days? Does that change the programming? We have been working with all the streamers in some way for several years now. Recently, we dropped Ellen’s Next Great Designer on HBO Max, we collaborated with Pharrell Williams on the Netflix gospel series Voices of Fire and on BET+ we delve into shocking true-crime stories with American Gangster: Trap Queens.We’re also in pre-production for the newest season of Netflix’s buzzy rendition of the beloved household game Floor Is Lava. 

How has the reality competition genre changed since you first got involved? There were fewer companies developing these kinds of concepts, we enjoyed a less fragmented market, and perhaps most important since freshness is a key element of the genre, every idea was a new one. Two of our most successful series were the first of their kind: Hell’s Kitchen was the first food competition show on network television and American Ninja Warrior was the first obstacle course show on network television. Today, with more companies trying to dream up a fresh concept unlike anything seen before, the competition genre is, simply put, way more competitive.

How much day-to-day interaction are you able to have with a show like Mental Samurai? Do you spend most of your time running the company? Producing will always be my passion, so I’m involved in every show we produce in some way. For several shows, like Hell’s Kitchen, The Titan Games and Mental Samurai, I’m on set for every shoot. And there’s no place I’d rather be. 

June is Black Music Month, and few cable shows embody the celebration of African-American musical artists more than TV One’s long-running Unsung. In its recently concluded 14th season, the docuseries — which has profiled performers ranging from Teddy Pendergrass to Rick James to DeBarge — finished as the network’s most-watched series and the most-watched show during its Sunday 10 p.m. time slot among African-American viewers, according to Nielsen.

With a new season already in the works, Unsung executive producer in charge of production Jason Ryan spoke to Multichannel News about the A. Smith & Co.-produced show’s longevity, as well as its strategy to attract younger viewers while remaining relevant to its core audience of adults 25-54.

MCN: How has Unsung helped to define TV One’s brand?

Jason Ryan:Unsung is our longest-running and our award-winning series. It’s one of those series that defines the network: People know TV One for Unsung just because it’s been running for so long. We get such a great response from fans and viewers, and many of the artists that have participated over the years have been really excited about being a part of the show.

MCN: What has the show done to help influence the business of music?

JR: It’s really important to provide a platform that really tells the story of influential black artists in this intimate type of setting. We celebrate their music, but we also tell their story. It’s just a really impactful platform, not only for the network but also culturally. Most of the time we hear artists when they are performing at a concert or they’re interviewing about a new project. This is a way to get into their story and give them a platform that you rarely see in the mainstream.

MCN: After initially focusing on artists from the ’60s and ’70s, more recent seasons of Unsung have also featured ’80s and ’90s artists. Has that introduced the series to a new generation of viewers?

JR: Incorporating some of those more-recent artists has helped broaden the scope of the show. Early on, it was more ’60s and ’70s artists, but as we’ve introduced some ’90s artists, those episodes have been received very well. As the show goes on through the years and we begin to separate from the eras, we can go back to those artists in the ’90s and 2000s because the show has been on for so long. That allows us to choose from an even larger pool of artists for future episodes that are more familiar to younger viewers.

MCN: Are you looking to make any changes to the format going forward?

JR: We’ve been talking long-term about some ways to tweak the show and make it stronger, but in the end it’s the artists and stories that make the show stand out. For the first time this past season, during our Dru Hill episode, we added an Unsung digital element in which an artist that’s featured performs a song live. For us, it’s not so much about changing the show, but more about evolving the show so that we can further engage the viewer and the artists.