Jon Kroll is an American producer, director, and writer who has worked in film and both scripted and non-scripted television. His work in television has been seen on a variety of broadcast and cable networks over the past 30 years. He is best known for his work as executive producer and show runner on '' Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted'' for the

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

network. He has worked on other National Geographic projects, including "Never Say Never with Jeff Jenkins," "Appetite for Adventure with Moe Cason" and "Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper", which won an Emmy Award. Kroll has directed three feature films and produced dozens of television programs, including ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality competition franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. ''The Amazing Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselv ...

'', for which he was honored with a 2004

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

. For four years, he was executive vice president, original programming, for New Line Television, where he served as executive producer for both scripted and unscripted programming. He is an adjunct professor for the School of Cinematic Arts at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC). In 2022, Kroll relocated to Wellington, New Zealand where he continues to develop and produce television shows for the U.S., Asia and Australasia marketplaces. He also serves on the Board of the New Zealand Film Commision.

Early life

Kroll was raised on a commune in Northern California where there was no electricity or television. He attended

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

where he earned his bachelor's in film production, and then the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television's Peter Stark Motion Picture Producing Program, where he received an MFA.

Career

Work in film

Kroll directed "From Hell to Hollywood," a biographical documentary about the life of Associated Press photojournalist ''

Nick Ut Huỳnh Công Út, known professionally as Nick Ut (born March 29, 1951), is a Vietnamese-American photographer who worked for the Associated Press in Los Angeles. He won both the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography and the 1973 World ...

'' whose 1972 Pulitzer Prize-winning photo is credited with helping to bring an end to the Vietnam War. The film premiered at Kansas City Film Fest International, where it won the Audience Award, and also screened at the Rising Sun International Film Festival in Japan, where it won the Documentary Award. Earlier in his career, Kroll directed three narrative films, including '' Amanda and the Alien'' based on a short story by ''

Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is a prolific American science fiction author and editor. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo Award, Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a SFWA Grand ...

'', which became Showtime's highest rated original film of 1995.

Television

Kroll produced ''

Pink Collar Crimes ''Pink Collar Crimes'' is a true crime show that aired on CBS. The series focuses on real crimes committed by women and includes interviews with the suspects, victims, private investigators, police, and attorneys involved with the cases. Episod ...

'', an 8-episode true crime series for CBS. Kroll also produced "

American Grit ''American Grit'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Fox on April 14, 2016. The series stars WWE wrestler John Cena. Fox ordered ten episodes for the first season of the competition series. On July 29, 2016, Fox renewed th ...

" and "Bullseye" for Fox, “The Week the Women Went” for the BBC and Lifetime, “

Pit Bulls & Parolees Pit Bulls & Parolees is an American reality television series on Animal Planet. The series, which began in 2009, focuses on the Villalobos Rescue Center, a rescue for dogs, specifically pit bull dogs. The show's mission, stated in voiceover dur ...

” for Animal Planet, “

Flipping Vegas ''Flipping Vegas'' is an American reality television series on A&E (TV channel), A&E in the United States. The series premiered on June 18, 2011, and ran through September 2014. It features Scott Yancey and his wife Amie Yancey with realtors from ...

” for A&E, " Big Brother" on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, '' High School Confidential'' on WE-TV, and ''From Star Wars to Star Wars'' on

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

. He also co-executive produced ''

,'' for which he won a 2004 prime time Emmy Award. His most notable scripted show to date has been '' Blade: The Series''.

Amish in the City

Kroll's most controversial project has been "

Amish in the City ''Amish in the City'' is an American reality television series which premiered on UPN on July 28, 2004. The plot revolved around five Amish teenagers experiencing "modern" (non-Amish) culture by living in a house with six mainstream American teen ...

," a show for

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...

that caused 51 members of congress to send a letter of protest to the network.

References

External links

Loveable Scoundrels Official Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kroll, Jon Film directors from California San Francisco State University alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people)