Netflix signs reality TV veteran Mike Darnell to exclusive multi-year overall deal

Netflix has signed Mike Darnell — the executive behind American Idol at Fox and The Voice and The Bachelor at Warner Bros. — to an exclusive, multi-year overall deal, Deadline reported on 30 July 2026. Darnell will provide "strategic creative guidance" across Netflix's entire unscripted slate and develop his own competition, dating and reality ensemble projects. He reports to Brandon Riegg, VP of Nonfiction Series & Sports.