Speaker Shawn Witt
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Shawn Witt is president of ITV America’s Leftfield Pictures, the prolific unscripted producer
behind reality staples such as HISTORY's survival competition Alone and cultural
phenomenon Pawn Stars, as well as ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30: Year of the Scab, among many others.
He oversees Leftfield’s production and development slate, encompassing projects from every corner of the unscripted landscape, including new series Chefs vs. Wild for Hulu, with myriad shows in the works for Peacock, The HISTORY Channel and Roku, among others.
Witt originally joined the Leftfield team in 2011, and prior to becoming president, he served as SVP of current programming and executive producer for ITV America. During his tenure with the company, he’s developed, launched and overseen hits including Counting Cars, which debuted as HISTORY’s #1 series premiere of all time, and Alone, the network’s #1 series premiere in 2015 – as well as other series, including Mud, Sweat & Beards (USA), Forged in Fire (HISTORY), Tiny House Nation (FYI), American Restoration (HISTORY), Tackle My Ride (NFL Network) and The Adventures of Dr. Buckeye Bottoms (NatGeo Wild). He’s also shepherded reality TV juggernaut Pawn Stars beyond 600 episodes and has executive
produced additional projects, including Wolves and Warriors (Animal Planet), Inspiring Life with
Lewis Howes (Facebook Watch), The Job Interview (CNBC), 30 for 30: Deion’s Double Play (ESPN) and Oddities (Science).
Witt was also executive producer on Leftfield’s groundbreaking Brain Surgery Live – the first- ever live televised brain surgery, hosted by Bryant Gumbel and broadcast to 171 countries in 45 languages worldwide – as well as the Kevin Costner-narrated documentary special Billy the Kid: New Evidence, both for National Geographic Channel.
Before Leftfield, Witt was an executive producer at MTV, specializing in the development and supervision of daily live studio productions, reality series, clip shows and live specials; including perennial hits Total Request Live, Pranked and Parental Control.
In 2018, Variety named Witt one of “Hollywood’s New Leaders,” and in 2019, he was featured on Multichannel News’ and NYC TV Week’s annual “40 Under 40.”
Speaking on: BORN AT REALSCREEN: THE STORY OF ‘ALONE’