"Unsung allows us to honor the artists that have helped shape the soundtrack of our lives and to preserve the richness of our musical history in a way that is authentic, respectful, and long overdue."

— Susan Henry, Vice President of Original Programming and Production, TV One and Cleo TV

By R. Thomas Umstead

Few television producers have been more successful and prolific over the past quarter century than Arthur Smith. Since launching his A. Smith & Co. Productions in 2000, the Canadian-born producer has put his fingerprints on more than 200 reality and documentary shows, including successful and long-running series such as American Ninja Warrior, Trading Spaces, Top Chef and Hell’s Kitchen.

Smith’s keen attention to viewing trends and quality entertainment has attracted such titans of the television industry as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Chef Gordon Ramsay, Ellen DeGeneres, Paris Hilton, Dennis Miller, John Cena and Rob Lowe. Johnson, in particular, described Smith as the perfect partner to accomplish his dream of allowing people to showcase their best athletic self, which led to the launch of The Titan Games in 2018.

Varied and Successful Career

Smith's diverse and successful entertainment career stems from his experiences as a Canadian teen actor, a high-profile sports executive, a nonfiction series producer, and, most recently, a book author. “I've come a long way from being the king of a disco in a very bad movie called Pinball Summer,” Smith remarked. “I have this kind of eclectic background, which is why I think I’ve loved working in the nonfiction space because it's such a broad genre.”

Smith’s early production roots in the television industry go back to his days as a sports producer at Canada’s CBC, where he produced the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics. Smith, an avid golfer, would then serve as head of programming and production for Fox Sports Net in the early 1990s, where he would help launch the company’s then-emerging regional sports networks.

Smith’s initial foray into the entertainment production space came after writing an introductory letter to the legendary entertainment producer Dick Clark, inquiring about working with Clark’s company. He would eventually work with his mentor as senior VP of Dick Clark Productions in 1990.

“Dick Clark was the master of variety television, as it was called back then, but I was more impressed with Dick as an entrepreneur,” Smith said. It would be Smith’s entrepreneurial spirit that would lead him to launch A. Smith & Co. Productions in 2000. Smith said the secret to his longevity is his dedication to making quality content that entertains viewers and also inspires them.
 

“Every one of our shows has to have four things: a great idea and format, an interesting subject matter, tremendous execution, and a freshness of concept … if it doesn’t check those boxes, then we don’t even pitch it.”

— Arthur Smith

Smith would eventually sell A. Smith & Co. in 2011 to Tinopolis Group U.S., where he currently serves as chairman, overseeing the Emmy-winning company Magical Elves, which produces such popular unscripted shows as Nailed It! and Top Chef. He still remains very active as a producer.

“I’m still the only person who talks in Gordon Ramsay’s ear on the Hell's Kitchen set after 24 seasons,” he said. “I'm still there. I've been there for every episode, and I love doing it.”

Fostering Diversity

Along with A. Smith & Co.’s signature programs, Smith has also found success in creating content that features diverse characters and stories, including BET Plus’s docuseries American Gangster: Trap Queens and TV One’s long-running music documentary series Unsung.

"Unsung allows us to honor the artists that have helped shape the soundtrack of our lives and to preserve the richness of our musical history in a way that is authentic, respectful, and long overdue,” TV One and Cleo TV vice president of original programming and production Susan Henry said. “Through their tireless dedication and shared passion, Arthur and the A. Smith & Co. Productions team have been integral in bringing each episode of the show to life.”

In 2023, Smith added published author to his list of accolades with the release of his book Reach: Hard Lessons and Learned Truths from a Lifetime in Television. Smith said he has donated all proceeds from the book to his foundation, called The REACH Foundation, which donates money to several charities that support individuals in need, enabling them to reach for their dreams in their own lives.

“I realized that everything goes back to some moment when I was really young, when I had to reach beyond myself, and it changed my life,” Smith said. “It's funny how you look back on your life and when you start tracing your steps, and for me, whenever I reached beyond what I thought I could do, that's when I had my best chance for success.”