MASTERCHEF
SHARON LEVY
Executive Producer
Sharon Levy serves as Chief Executive Officer of Endemol Shine North America (ESNA), one of several independent production studios that comprise the Banijay-owned Banijay Americas group. Levy and ESNA are the driving forces behind hit unscripted series like MasterChef, LEGO Masters, Fear Factor: House of Fear, and Deal or No Deal Island, as well as scripted dramas Ripley and Like Water for Chocolate. As a Peabody Award recipient, Emmy Award-nominated producer, and named one of the “Most Powerful Producers in Unscripted TV” by The Hollywood Reporter, she leads all aspects of the business and its growth. Under her visionary leadership, ESNA has solidified its position as a dominant force in the industry, delivering a series of groundbreaking projects that have captivated audiences and garnered critical acclaim.
Since joining Endemol Shine North America in 2017 as President, Unscripted and Scripted TV, Levy, an award-winning producer and executive, successfully reconfigured the studio’s Los Angeles-based programming team to work more closely with Banijay’s myriad global production companies. Promoted to Chief Content Officer in 2021 and CEO in 2023, her development slate includes new originals as well as projects with co-owned labels worldwide featuring marquis talent such as Nick Cannon, Gordon Ramsay, Johnny Knoxville, Will Arnett, Andrew Scott, Dakota Fanning, Joe Manganiello, Salma Hayek Pinault, John Cena, Nicole Byer, Keke Palmer, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, John Cusack, Steven Zaillian, Gillian Flynn, and more.
In 2025, Levy and Endemol Shine North America achieved the rare feat of having series on all four broadcast networks concurrently. During her tenure with ESNA, she has launched and overseen unscripted hits such as FOX’s wildly successful and Emmy Award-nominated LEGO Masters and the Johnny Knoxville-led Fear Factor: House of Fear; a reimagined Deal or No Deal Island and Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge for NBC; the epic adventure series The Summit on CBS; and ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, hosted by The Home Edit’s Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin. Other unscripted series developed under Levy’s watch include TBS’ revamped Wipeout, Foodtastic on Disney+, and The Courtship (USA/Peacock). Levy also leads Endemol Shine’s top-rated food competition franchises, MasterChef and MasterChef Junior, both on FOX.
On the scripted side, Levy has significantly ramped up the independent studio’s development slate, highlighted by the award-winning limited series Ripley, which received a prestigious Peabody Award and four Emmy Awards (out of 13 Emmy nominations), including Best Director for Steven Zaillian, and the HBO/Max series Like Water for Chocolate, which was produced in partnership with Endemol Shine Boomdog and Salma Hayek Pinault’s Ventanarosa Productions.
Before joining Endemol Shine, Levy served as Executive Vice President of Original Series for Spike TV, where she oversaw the acquisition, creation, and production of unscripted series, scripted series, and documentaries, successfully transforming the network’s brand identity with hits such as Ink Master, Bar Rescue, Auction Hunters, and Deadliest Warrior.
Beyond her executive prowess, Levy’s commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion is equally impressive. She spearheaded the creation of Banijay Launch, an award-winning global accelerator program designed to exclusively support women creators with promising unscripted formats and contribute to the industry’s ongoing efforts to achieve greater gender parity. This initiative was first launched at MIPCOM ‘23 and received an extraordinary 500+ applications from 30+ territories and a diversity of backgrounds.
The inaugural Banijay Launch was supported by the commission of a first-of-its-kind study with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (available here). The groundbreaking research findings highlighted significant gender disparity in unscripted production across Brazil, the U.K., the U.S., and France, and will help contribute to a more informed and inclusive industry.
Cast Photos
Bio
Sharon Levy serves as Chief Executive Officer of Endemol Shine North America (ESNA), one of several independent production studios that comprise the Banijay-owned Banijay Americas group. Levy and ESNA are the driving forces behind hit unscripted series like MasterChef, LEGO Masters, Fear Factor: House of Fear, and Deal or No Deal Island, as well as scripted dramas Ripley and Like Water for Chocolate. As a Peabody Award recipient, Emmy Award-nominated producer, and named one of the “Most Powerful Producers in Unscripted TV” by The Hollywood Reporter, she leads all aspects of the business and its growth. Under her visionary leadership, ESNA has solidified its position as a dominant force in the industry, delivering a series of groundbreaking projects that have captivated audiences and garnered critical acclaim.
Since joining Endemol Shine North America in 2017 as President, Unscripted and Scripted TV, Levy, an award-winning producer and executive, successfully reconfigured the studio’s Los Angeles-based programming team to work more closely with Banijay’s myriad global production companies. Promoted to Chief Content Officer in 2021 and CEO in 2023, her development slate includes new originals as well as projects with co-owned labels worldwide featuring marquis talent such as Nick Cannon, Gordon Ramsay, Johnny Knoxville, Will Arnett, Andrew Scott, Dakota Fanning, Joe Manganiello, Salma Hayek Pinault, John Cena, Nicole Byer, Keke Palmer, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, John Cusack, Steven Zaillian, Gillian Flynn, and more.
In 2025, Levy and Endemol Shine North America achieved the rare feat of having series on all four broadcast networks concurrently. During her tenure with ESNA, she has launched and overseen unscripted hits such as FOX’s wildly successful and Emmy Award-nominated LEGO Masters and the Johnny Knoxville-led Fear Factor: House of Fear; a reimagined Deal or No Deal Island and Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge for NBC; the epic adventure series The Summit on CBS; and ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, hosted by The Home Edit’s Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin. Other unscripted series developed under Levy’s watch include TBS’ revamped Wipeout, Foodtastic on Disney+, and The Courtship (USA/Peacock). Levy also leads Endemol Shine’s top-rated food competition franchises, MasterChef and MasterChef Junior, both on FOX.
On the scripted side, Levy has significantly ramped up the independent studio’s development slate, highlighted by the award-winning limited series Ripley, which received a prestigious Peabody Award and four Emmy Awards (out of 13 Emmy nominations), including Best Director for Steven Zaillian, and the HBO/Max series Like Water for Chocolate, which was produced in partnership with Endemol Shine Boomdog and Salma Hayek Pinault’s Ventanarosa Productions.
Before joining Endemol Shine, Levy served as Executive Vice President of Original Series for Spike TV, where she oversaw the acquisition, creation, and production of unscripted series, scripted series, and documentaries, successfully transforming the network’s brand identity with hits such as Ink Master, Bar Rescue, Auction Hunters, and Deadliest Warrior.
Beyond her executive prowess, Levy’s commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion is equally impressive. She spearheaded the creation of Banijay Launch, an award-winning global accelerator program designed to exclusively support women creators with promising unscripted formats and contribute to the industry’s ongoing efforts to achieve greater gender parity. This initiative was first launched at MIPCOM ‘23 and received an extraordinary 500+ applications from 30+ territories and a diversity of backgrounds.
The inaugural Banijay Launch was supported by the commission of a first-of-its-kind study with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (available here). The groundbreaking research findings highlighted significant gender disparity in unscripted production across Brazil, the U.K., the U.S., and France, and will help contribute to a more informed and inclusive industry.