MEET CRAIG PLESTIS
Craig Plestis knows reality programming. He’s an innovator and visionary who has been at the forefront of the genre since its inception. He is behind the #1 New Show in America, The Masked Singer, for Fox, which had the highest-rated unscripted launch in 8 years. In addition, it is the network’s most streamed unscripted show ever. The Masked Singer is now in its eleventh season. The hit franchise made way for The Masked Dancer, created and executive produced by Plestis, which aired in 2020. He also executive produces I Can See Your Voice for FOX and CashPad for CNBC.
As the former head of Reality at NBC, he helped create and launch hits such as America's Got Talent; Deal or No Deal; The Biggest Loser; The Apprentice; The Singing Bee; 1 vs 100; Last Comic Standing; Nashville Star; The Chopping Block with Marco Pierre White; Dog Eat Dog; Fear Factor; The Contender; Grease, You’re The One That I Want; Thank God You’re Here; Three Wishes; and Treasure Hunters. He took chances on controversial and socially important shows such as Baby Borrowers. In addition, he was in charge of the perennially popular Golden Globe Awards.
As head of Smart Dog Media, Craig was the executive producer of the NBC singing game show The Winner Is, hosted by Nick Lachey, in partnership with Talpa Media, producers of The Voice for NBC. He was also the executive producer of more than 70 episodes of the NBC hit game show Minute to Win It, hosted by Guy Fieri, which was the winner of the International FRAPA Award for Best Studio-Based Game Show. In addition, Craig executive-produced NBC’s Who’s Still Standing? a game show that featured contestants falling through trap doors after answering trivia questions incorrectly. In 2013, Smart Dog Media launched Robot Combat League for the Syfy Channel, the world’s first giant fighting robot competition series. Craig also served as the executive producer of Syfy’s diabolical game show Exit, based on a popular Japanese format. Continuing his relationship with Syfy, he brought them Opposite Worlds, the English-language version of the popular Chilean format, Mundos Opuestos. Craig has also worked extensively with The Food Network, producing three series in the last few years. Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell recently wrapped its third season on the network. The series initially launched as Chef Hunter before being rebranded as a vehicle for the very popular TV chef, Anne Burrell. In addition, he created and produced Extreme Chef , which took seven of America's most fearless chefs out of their kitchens and dropped them into extreme locations. Additionally, Craig was the executive producer on two half-hour syndicated series for Tribune: Unsealed: Alien Files and Unsealed: Conspiracy Files, which are currently being rebroadcast on Destination America and streaming on Netflix.
MEET CLARA PLESTIS
Clara is an innovative television executive producer who strives to create original groundbreaking formats while also searching for existing international formats to reformulate. Since becoming the Director of Development for Smart Dog Media, Clara was on the discovery and development team for The Masked Singer. While spearheading all new formats, Clara has been on The Masked Singer team for all 12 seasons. Clara was the Executive Producer on “Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic” a special event that aired on CBS and Paramount+ and is nominated for four 2024 Emmy awards. Clara produced Love by A.I. with TBS (Tokyo Broadcast System), a show that was nominated for a 2023 International Emmy. She also was a producer on Unicorn Hunters on Amazon. Clara prides herself on her international TV partnerships. She is so passionate about development and has developed dozens of formats ranging from animation to social experiment alternative programs. In addition to development, producing and attending conferences like MIPCOM, Clara is a voiceover artist and background vocalist in SAG-AFTRA and has sung numerous theme songs for unscripted shows. With a bachelors and masters in music, she makes it a point to be involved in the music department on any show she works on, from on stage performances to the mix in post production.
