Bob Boden

Bob Boden (born January 21, 1959) is an American television producer. Known for his work in game shows and reality television, he is the Executive Vice President of Production and Development for Byron Allen's company Entertainment Studios.

Shows he has developed, supervised and produced include '' Funny You Should Ask'', ''Family Feud'', ''The $25,000 Pyramid'', ''Press Your Luck'', ''Card Sharks'', ''Home & Family'', '' Family Game Night'', ''The Game of Life'', ''Scrabble Showdown'', '' To Tell the Truth'', ''Don't Forget the Lyrics'', ''Match Game'', ''Solitary'', '' Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular'', ''American Idol Extra'', ''Househusbands of Hollywood'', '' The Academy'', '' Paradise Hotel 2'', ''The FOX Reality Channel Really Awards'', ''Lingo'', '' Friend or Foe?'', ''Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck'', Russian Roulette, Cram, ''Greed'' (which he co-created), and '' The Chase'', which received a Daytime Emmy nomination.

Early life and career

Boden was born on January 21, 1959, in The Bronx, New York, the only child of Hannah and Kenneth Boden, who were both registered nurses. He grew up in Flushing, Queens, where he graduated from John Bowne High School in 1981 with a B.A. in Theater Arts. Bob recently was awarded a Masters Degree from California State University Dominguez Hills in the field of Negotiation, Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding.

He began his work in television as a cue card associate for Barney McNulty, then as a production assistant on the game show ''Temptation'', before working at Paramount Television in research. This led him to CBS, where he eventually was selected for the management training program, which resulted in a job at CBS as program executive in daytime programming. In this role he oversaw shows such as ''Press Your Luck'', ''The $25,000 Pyramid'', and ''Card Sharks''. He left CBS to work as director of development for Barry & Enright Productions, then moved to ABC as director of Daytime Development, then to Buena Vista Productions, and as VP, Development at Mark Goodson Productions. He helped launch the Game Show Network in 1994 and later served as programming chief, from 2001-2003.

His later executive positions included VP, Daytime Programming for The Family Channel (where he supervised the shows Home & Family, Shop Til You Drop, Shopping Spree, Small Talk, Wait Til You Have Kids, It Takes Two and Family Challenge), VP, Development and Production for FX Networks (where he was in charge of Instant Comedy with the Groundlings, Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular, and Personal FX: The Collectibles Show), Sr. VP, Production and Development for dick clark productions, Sr. VP, Programming for the FOX Reality Channel, and Sr. VP, Reality and Game Shows, for Hasbro Studios.

Production work

''Greed''

In 1999, Boden was asked to co-create a new game show for FOX with Dick Clark. He then served as showrunner, executive producer and writer on ''Greed''. The show aired on FOX and was hosted by Chuck Woolery.

''The Chase''

Boden is also known for '' The Chase'', an adaptation of the British game show on ITV, where he was showrunner and Executive Producer. This version aired on Game Show Network and featured British "chaser" Mark Labbett, and host Brooke Burns. ''The Chase'' was nominated at the 41st Daytime Emmy Awards for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show. Professional sports bettor James Holzhauer appeared on the show in 2014, years before his appearance on ''Jeopardy!''. ''The Chase'' regained attention with Holzhauer's appearance on ''Jeopardy!'', and Boden was featured as a game show expert in several interviews.

''Funny You Should Ask''

Boden is currently an executive producer and showrunner on the syndicated celebrity comedy game show Funny You Should Ask, produced and distributed by Entertainment Studios. The show began airing its sixth season in September 2022.

Other

At FOX Reality Channel, Boden served as Executive Producer on Solitary, American Idol Extra, The Academy, Paradise Hotel 2, Reality Remix, Reality Binge, Househusbands of Hollywood, the Really Awards, My Bare Lady, Battle of the Bods, and Night Club Confessions, among others. Boden was also Executive Producer on Challenge of the Child Geniuses, Co-Executive Producer of BOOM!, consulting producer on To Tell the Truth and Superhuman, supervising producer on Family Feud, Bumper Stumpers, Pictionary and The NOVA Quiz, and a writer on Jeopardy!. Other shows that Boden consulted on include The Ellen DeGeneres Show, America’s Funniest Videos, The Tonight Show with Jay leno, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader, Million Second Quiz and The Wall.

Televison Academy

Bob served as Governor of the Daytime Programming peer group from 1996-2000 and 2001-2005. He later was elected as Governor of the Reality Programming peer group from 2017-2021. He also has served as Chair of the Daytime Awards Committee, the Primetime Awards Committee, the Creative Arts Show Committee, and as a member of the Executive Committee and numerous other Academy committees. He is also currently part of the Awards Committee of the sister organization, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Teaching

Since 2017, Bob has worked as an adjunct professor for the Los Angeles Semester Program of the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University. He teaches a course called "TV Nation," focusing on the creation, development and pitching of television series.

TEDx talk

In April, 2022, Bob delivered a TEDx talk entitled "What Game Shows Teach You About Life" on the campus of Syracuse University.

National Archives of Game Show History

In 2021, Bob was named co-founder of the National Archives of Game Show History, along with Howard Blumenthal. The Archives are based at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. An interactive exhibit will open in 2025.

Personal life

Boden lives in Van Nuys, California, with his wife and daughter. He serves as a Governor for the reality peer group of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and is an adjunct professor for the Los Angeles campus of Syracuse University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boden, Bob
Living people
1959 births
Television producers from New York City