Paul Franklin Joins Shine USA As Executive VP, Programming

Franklin, who is considered one of the most successful producers of unscripted programming in Australia, will relocate from Shine Australia to Shine USA’s headquarters in Los Angeles, CA,to assume responsibility for the creative oversight of Shine USA’s unscripted slate of series that include The Biggest Loser, MasterChef and Tabatha Takes Over. Franklin will report to Company President Eden Gaha.

Franklin began his television career in the UK producing shows for all British networks before relocating to Sydney to oversee the first Australian season of The Biggest Loser and Jamie’s Kitchen Australia.

Upon joining FremantleMedia Australia as Head of Factual Entertainment, Franklin was the production partner and the creative architect behind transforming Shine’s UK based series MasterChef to a successful international format with MasterChef Australia, which became Australia’s highest-rated television series. After departing FremantleMedia Australia, Franklin consulted with Shine Group and travelled as an ambassador for MasterChef to establish the show in the United States with Gordon Ramsay and to manage additional launches of the format in France and India. Franklin is credited as one of the main driving forces behind the global success of Shine Group’s MasterChef format, which currently airs in 30 countries.

Franklin most recently oversaw unscripted series for Shine Australia including The Biggest Loser, Junior MasterChef, The Renovators, In Their Footsteps and the highly anticipated fourth season of MasterChef Australia.

Shine USA CEO Carl Fennessy, who previously worked with Franklin at Shine Australia, said, "Paul is simply one of the finest program makers in the world and we're thrilled to welcome him to Shine USA. He has an extraordinary creative vision and a track record of producing exceptional television and delivering super hits. As we continue to build out Shine USA as the destination of choice for creative program making talent, Paul will add a whole new dimension to our team."

Gaha added, “I’m ecstatic to add Paul to our team. His established knowledge of our existing slate of unscripted programs will be invaluable as we focus on the continued growth of those shows and the development of new projects.”

Shine USA is part of the Shine Group, one of the world's foremost multinational entertainment and drama companies. Focused on exploiting worldwide intellectual property rights in scripted and unscripted television and digital entertainment, the Company is also a world leader in creating integrated marketing opportunities for advertisers and known for popular and awardwinning hit series including MasterChef, The Biggest Loser, The Office, Tabatha Takes Over, Shear Genius and One Born Every Minute. Additionally, the Company has partnerships with Break Media, Microsoft and Yahoo! to develop original online series for brands. Through its distribution arm, Shine International, the Company distributes its extensive library of programming to more than 150 countries.