
John Platt
Production
Biography
Award-winning Writer/Producer/Director, John Platt began his showbiz career right out of college as a Video Game Writer/Designer at the San Diego company RDI, which created the hit laser disc games Dragon's Lair and Space Ace. At the same time, he was continuing to write screenplays. Platt and co-writer Roy Langsdon were hired to write their first paid film script on Halloween, 1985...a talking dog movie for producer Chris Whittaker, called Police Dog. That film was never produced, but is believed to have inspired the later Jim Belushi hit K-9. The Police Dog assignment earned Platt & Langsdon their first agent, and the pair went on to write a number of low-budget feature films, including the cult-classic Lambada movie "The Forbidden Dance". Between screenplays, Platt also went into television, writing and producing shows for E! Entertainment Television and the Sci-Fi Channel. It was on a Sci-Fi project called "Masters of Fantasy" that Platt met later collaborator, producer Jon Kroll, and the two became fast friends. Kroll pulled Platt into reality TV in 2001. Platt then went on to help produce the second season of The Amazing Race, where he was the only story producer to circumnavigate the globe that season. Platt was also highly influential in the 'celeb-reality' phenomenon, as a producer on the first season of The Surreal Life, a series that spawned more spin-offs than almost any other show in history. He became the Co-Executive Producer of "Big Brother" on season 7's All Stars edition, and continued to oversee story on that series through Season 11. During his years on "Big Brother", Platt was also Co-Executive Producer of ABC's highly controversial and critically acclaimed docu-series Brat Camp, which was nominated for the Director's Guild of America's first-ever reality TV award. Platt also produced ABC's critically acclaimed reality comedy The Family, which The New York Times television critic Virginia Heffernan named as one of her Top 10 Programs of the Year. Platt was also instrumental in developing CBS' ground-breaking, yet controversial series Kid Nation, considered by many to be one of the best, most ambitious reality TV shows ever produced. Also a pioneer in online entertainment, Platt executive produced Hulu's first ever original series If I Can Dream with "American Idol" creator Simon Fuller, as well as Showrunning Bravo's Emmy Award® winning, multi-media dating series The Singles Project. Platt was also the Showrunner of A&E's long-running house flipping hit Flipping Vegas, and the internationally franchised FYI Series Bride & Prejudice, among many others. Platt's teenage love of playing Dungeons & Dragons became an asset in 2023, when he was asked to produce over 60 hours of original content to launch the new "Dungeons & Dragons Adventures" FAST Channel for eOne and Hasbro. The D&D series include Matthew Lillard's improv comedy show Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill!, the video version of the podcast hit Encounter Party, and the Dungeons & Dragons-themed cooking show Heroes' Feast, bringing Platt's body of work to well over 500 hours of produced television. Platt lives in Sherman Oaks, CA, with his wife, schoolteacher Carrie Wong.
Known For

American version of the reality game show which follows a group of HouseGuests living together 24 hours a day in the "Big Brother" house, isolated from the outside world but under constant surveillance with no privacy for three months.
Big Brother

This reality competition sees teams embark on a trek around the world to amazing destinations where they must compete in a series of challenges, some mental and some physical. Only when the tasks are completed will they learn of their next location. Teams who are the farthest behind will gradually be eliminated as the contest progresses, with the first team to arrive at the final destination winning the race and the $1 million prize.
The Amazing Race

The Surreal Life is a reality television series that sets a select group of past-their-prime celebrities and records them as they live together in Glen Campbell's former mansion in the Hollywood Hills for two weeks. The format of the show resembles that of The Real World and Road Rules, in that the cameras not only record the castmates' participation in group activities assigned to them, but also their interpersonal relationships and conflicts. The series is also likened to The Challenge in that previously known individuals from separate origins of entertainment are brought together into one cast. The show's first two seasons aired on The WB, and subsequent seasons have been shown on VH1.
The Surreal Life

Four 1st-level heroes. One epic monster. Certain death! Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill! serves up comedic mayhem as four special guests pit their low-level Dungeons & Dragons characters against the game’s mightiest monsters. Each one-hour episode features a rotating line-up of Hollywood celebrities and tabletop gaming stars whose puny characters don’t stand a chance. Whether they go out in a blaze of glory or a scream of terror, a “total party kill” has never been this much fun.
Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill!

Starring Dungeons and Dragons playing Chef Mike Haracz, and Writer/Actress/Producer/ D&D enthusiast Sujata Day, "HEROES' FEAST" is a fun-filled cooking show, featuring D&D related celebrity guests.
Heroes' Feast

Six strangers share a prophetic dream that condemns two of them to death. As they chase down their impending demise, a dangerous question grows. Does fate change once you've seen it?
Encounter Party

A documentary about the rise and fall of the Cannon Film Group, the legendary independent film company helmed by Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus.
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
If I Can Dream is the first of a new generation of post reality entertainment. Created by Simon Fuller, If I Can Dream documents the authentic story of five young people who dream of success in Hollywood, revealing every moment of triumph and struggle along the way. It allows viewers to interact with the individuals and the narrative in real time. If I Can Dream gives open access to a show in a way that has not been attempted before. Watch every move live online as they rehearse, write, socialize and plan their careers. Will these aspiring hopefuls have what it takes to succeed and who will be next to join If I Can Dream via a public audition process? Interactive audience participation makes If I Can Dream a fascinating cultural experiment, opening up the American Dream and democratizing the process of the making of a star.
If I Can Dream

Flipping Vegas follows Scott Yancey and his team — wife and interior designer Amie, and a host of wild project managers and beautiful real estate agents — as they work to breathe new life into run down properties in Las Vegas.
Flipping Vegas

A middle-class clan from the Northeast is suddenly thrust into the world of the super rich. Sequestered in a 20,000-square-foot mansion on a 40-acre estate in Palm Beach, they are observed by around-the-clock cameras. They compete in high-society challenges for cruises on luxury yachts, private jets and spectacular prizes and ultimately, for control of the one million-dollar fortune. A full-service professional staff is at their beck and call, including a butler, personal trainer, stylist, kitchen staff, personal secretary, housekeepers, manicurist, tennis pro and countless others -- all used to working with high-end clientele. Unbeknownst to the 10 contestants, the staff picks the winners and losers, and the losers must remain in the house to watch the remaining contestants duke it out.
The Family

Kid Nation was an American reality television show hosted by Jonathan Karsh that premiered on the CBS network on September 19, 2007 created by Tom Forman Productions and Endemol USA and aired on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET . The show, featuring 40 children aged 8 to 15, was filmed on location at the Bonanza Creek Movie Ranch, a privately owned town built on the ruins of Bonanza City, New Mexico, eight miles south of Santa Fe, with production beginning on April 1, 2007. In the show, the children try to create a functioning society in the town, including setting up a government system with minimal adult help and supervision.
Kid Nation

Sure it seems straight-forward - it's a dating show about New Yorkers looking for love. But just like finding the love of your life isn't a straight line, this show isn't that easy either? (Seriously, we'll find the one eventually). These Singles are looking for love - and looking for your advice along the way. You can follow along for all the info on what the Singles are doing between dates - who they are agonizing over calling, what they're debating outfit wise, and how they are filling there days. But more than just keeping up with their every move in real-time, they want you to weigh in. During the episode, you can vote in polls to let them know who they should keep seeing. Then keep voicing your opinion - on the blog and through live Q&As with the cast. Plus we'll have all sorts of behind-the-scenes, up-to-the-second content. We wouldn't want to keep you waiting by the TV.
The Singles Project

A princess in the Amazon rain forests tries to fight a conglomerate threatening the forests by going to Los Angeles. There she links up with a rich kid who tells her that she must get on television to succeed with her mission. Quick as a wink, the two come up with the idea of winning a lambada dance contest.
The Forbidden Dance

Meet three couples as they decide to make a life-long commitment and get married in the face of staunch opposition from their family and friends. From an interfaith couple in Baltimore, to a gay couple in Boston, and an interracial couple from Houston - these people are all striving to show doubtful loved ones how differences in race, religion and sexual preference do not affect their ability to love and be loved. As they announce their engagements and meet the in-laws, emotions run high. Will familial pressure impact their upcoming nuptials, or will love of a potential spouse outweigh love of family? Will they go through with the weddings if family members don't ultimately approve? Against all odds and in the face of bigotry, these couples will aim to prove that their relationship has what it takes to build the foundation for a long lasting marriage.
Bride & Prejudice: Forbidden Love

The American version of reality television show. Nine seemingly uncontrollable teens (ages 14-17) are sent to the Oregon wilderness school SageWalk, where counselors 'attempt to rebuild [the teens'] lives into something positive,' in this seven-part reality series.
Brat Camp

A rich woman becomes paranoid after losing her daughter to a so-called Kabuki Killer.
Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Two high school goofs steal an explosive device from another world that has been hidden on earth, and an alien named Mr. Armageddon is sent to retrieve it from them.