Michael Davies

As one of the most prolific and versatile producers in the television industry, Michael Davies has been key in transforming the television and digital landscapes and bringing alternative ideas to the mainstream. As president of Embassy Row, the global television format and digital production company that he sold to Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2008, Davies and his team are dedicated to developing original concepts and adapting international formats for television networks, digital and wireless distribution in the U.S. and abroad. Davies specializes in the genres of games, creative competitions, live talk, social media, food, sports, music and documentary. In addition, he is  a pioneer in the fields of brand-supported and digital content.

Davies’ recent television credits include: ”Watch What Happens Live,”Bravo’s late-night phenomenon that is produced from Embassy Row’s intimate in-house studio in Soho, the upcoming competition series “The Job” for CBS, the critically-acclaimed “The Glee Project” for Oxygen, “Kathy” for Bravo and “The Talking Dead,” the companion show to the hit series “The Walking Dead” on AMC.  Additional credits include: “The World Series of Pop Culture” for VH1, “The Newlywed Game,” “Pyramid” and “The American Bible Challenge” for GSN. Upcoming projects include: “Draw Something,” a competition series based on the Zynga sensation and “The Jenny Show” hosted by Jenny McCarthy for VH1. Davies continues to serve as executive producer of the “Wife Swap” franchise.

Leading the way in digital production, Embassy Row continues to create successful online programming. The most recent project includes the web series “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” featuring iconic comedian Jerry Seinfeld and celebrity guests for the Sony-owned Crackle.com. Additional developments include: the 2012 EPL Talk Podcast of the Year, “Men in Blazers”, on Sirius XM radio, Grantland and ESPN.com and “Why it Crackles” on Crackle.com. Embassy Row has also created and produced branded content for major brands including Pepsi, ELLE Magazine, Hellmann’s, LG, American Express, and Swarovski.

Other credits for Davies and Embassy Row include “Iconoclasts” for the Sundance Channel with Radical Media and Grey Goose Entertainment, and “Power of 10,” the Rose D’Or-winning game show for CBS. Documentary films include the controversial and highly-regarded “The Tillman Story”(Passion Pictures/A&E Films/The Weinstein Co.), which was an Official Selection at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, shortlisted for an Academy Award and received an Emmy® award for Outstanding International Programming, and “Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos” (Passion Pictures/ESPN Original Entertainment/Miramax), an entertaining and critically-acclaimed piece of sports history.

Before founding Embassy Row in 2005, Davies was Founder and President of Diplomatic, where he produced multiple projects including ESPN’s popular game show “2 Minute Drill” and The WB’s game show/reality hybrid ”Studio 7.” Prior to that, Davies served as Executive Vice President, Alternative Series and Specials, for ABC Entertainment, where he oversaw the development of “Whose Line is it Anyway?,” the popular David Blaine magic specials, the original pilot for “The Man Show” (which ran for seven seasons on Comedy Central), the 1998 and 1999 Academy Awards. At ABC, Davies executive produced more than 1,000 episodes of the Emmy® and TV Guide Award winning U.S. version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” which transformed the TV landscape.

Additionally, Davies served as Senior Vice President, Development, Buena Vista Productions, responsible for developing all first-run syndication, cable and network programming. There, he shepherded such projects as the late night talk-variety program “The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show,” the television adaptation of the hit feature “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” the Emmy® award-winning Comedy Central series “Win Ben Stein’s Money,” the Lifetime hit game show, “Debt”, which won a CableACE award for Best Game Show, and the Emmy® award-winning children’s series “Disney Presents Bill Nye the Science Guy.”

Davies grew up in London, graduated from the University of Edinburgh and resides in New York City.