51 Minds Entertainment
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television |
| Genre | Reality television |
| Predecessors |
|
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people |
|
| Products | |
Number of employees | 200+ (2008) |
| Parent |
|
| Website | 51minds |
| Footnotes [1] | |
51 Minds Entertainment (or Fifty One Minds Entertainment) is a production company founded by Cris Abrego and Mark Cronin, that specializes in reality TV.[2][3] It was created in 2004 as a merger between Cris Abrego's 51 Pictures (formerly Brass Ring Entertainment) and Mark Cronin's Mindless Entertainment.
The company is best known for producing the "celebreality" programs on VH1 (such as Flavor of Love, Rock of Love with Bret Michaels, Real Chance of Love, etc.) and other shows such as The Surreal Life, La La's Full Court Life, and the Below Deck franchise.
History
In 2005, the company signed a two-year, seven series production deal with VH1.[4] The company has been credited in helping revive VH1 ratings during this time.[5] In 2008, the company was purchased by Endemol (later Endemol Shine Group, now Banijay Entertainment).[1]
In 2009, after the Murder of Jasmine Fiore case, VH1 canceled Megan Wants a Millionaire and the third season of I Love Money, and 51 Minds was forced to reimburse VH1 for over $12 million in losses.[6][7]
In 2010, the company branched out in Internet distributed programming, producing The Tester for the PlayStation Network.[8] Other popular shows include Below Deck and their franchises on the NBCUniversal network Bravo.
In 2014, Cronin left the company to form Little Wooden Boat Productions, but still continued to work on shows by 51 Minds, such as Below Deck and Idiotest.[9][10][11]
Filmography
As 51 Minds Entertainment
2000s
| Title | Creator(s) / Developer(s) | Premiere date | End date | Network | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Surreal Life | Cris Abrego Mark Cronin |
January 9, 2003 | September 3, 2024 | VH1 | First television show created by the company. Credited as Mindless Entertainment for the first season. |
| Strange Love | January 9, 2005 | April 24, 2005 | |||
| My Fair Brady | September 11, 2005 | March 9, 2008 | |||
| Flavor of Love | January 1, 2006 | May 26, 2008 | First reality dating "of Love" show created by the company. | ||
| Celebrity Paranormal Project | October 22, 2006 | December 17, 2006 | |||
| I Love New York | January 8, 2007 | January 6, 2008 | Spin-off to Flavor of Love. | ||
| Gotti's Way | October 8, 2007 | June 22, 2009 | |||
| Rock of Love with Bret Michaels | July 15, 2007 | April 19, 2009 | |||
| Charm School | April 15, 2007 | July 27, 2009 | |||
| America's Most Smartest Model | October 7, 2007 | December 16, 2007 | |||
| I Love Money | July 6, 2008 | December 1, 2010 | |||
| Real Chance of Love | October 20, 2008 | October 26, 2009 | |||
| Daisy of Love | April 26, 2009 | July 26, 2009 | First spin-off to Rock of Love with Bret Michaels. | ||
| Megan Wants a Millionaire | August 2, 2009 | August 16, 2009 | Second spin-off to Rock of Love with Bret Michaels. | ||
| New York Goes to Work | May 4, 2009 | June 29, 2009 | |||
| For the Love of Ray J | February 2, 2009 | February 8, 2010 |
2010s
| Title | Creator(s) / Developer(s) | Premiere date | End date | Network | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank the Entertainer in a Basement Affair | Cris Abrego Mark Cronin |
January 3, 2010 | March 28, 2010 | VH1 | Spin-off to I Love New York and I Love Money. |
| The Tester | Sony Computer Entertainment | February 18, 2010 | April 3, 2012 | PlayStation Network | |
| Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business | Cris Abrego Mark Cronin Ray J |
April 11, 2010 | February 27, 2011 | VH1 | |
| Ochocinco: The Ultimate Catch | Bob Horowitz Lewis Fenton Cris Abrego Mark Cronin Chad Ochocinco |
July 11, 2010 | September 5, 2010 | ||
| Money Hungry | Cris Abrego Ellen Rakieten |
August 2, 2010 | October 4, 2010 | ||
| Real and Chance: The Legend Hunters | Cris Abrego Mark Cronin |
September 19, 2010 | November 24, 2010 | ||
| La La's Full Court Wedding | October 24, 2010 | ||||
| Bret Michaels: Life as I Know It | Bret Michaels Cris Abrego Mark Cronin |
October 18, 2010 | December 20, 2010 | Third spin-off to Rock of Love with Bret Michaels. | |
| Mario Lopez: Saved by the Baby | Cris Abrego Mark Cronin |
November 1, 2010 | January 3, 2011 | ||
| Bridalplasty | November 28, 2010 | January 30, 2011 | E! | ||
| Same Name | July 24, 2011 | August 14, 2011 | CBS | ||
| Famous Food | July 10, 2011 | September 7, 2011 | VH1 | ||
| Ton of Cash | August 17, 2011 | October 26, 2011 | |||
| La La's Full Court Life | La La Anthony Cris Abrego |
August 22, 2011 | July 2, 2014 | Spin-off of La La's Full Court Wedding. | |
| Scouted | Cris Abrego Mark Cronin |
November 28, 2011 | January 16, 2012 | E! | |
| T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle | Brian Sher Cris Abrego Stella Bulochnikov |
December 5, 2011 | May 29, 2017 | VH1 | |
| Redneck Island | Steve Austin | June 9, 2012 | March 31, 2016 | CMT | |
| Marrying the Game | Jayceon Taylor Tiffany Clambridge |
November 19, 2012 | July 2, 2014 | VH1 | |
| Ghost Mine | Mark Cronin | January 16, 2013 | November 20, 2013 | Syfy | |
| Whodunnit? | Anthony E. Zuiker | June 23, 2013 | August 18, 2013 | ABC | |
| Below Deck | Mark Cronin | July 1, 2013 | present | Bravo | Second longest-running show franchise by the company. |
| Mind of a Man | January 8, 2014 | May 14, 2014 | Game Show Network | ||
| Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge | Steve Austin | July 6, 2014 | December 19, 2017 | CMT | In co-production with Broken Skull Productions. |
| Sisterhood of Hip Hop | T.I. | August 12, 2014 | September 13, 2016 | VH1 | |
| Follow the Rules | Ja Rule | October 26, 2015 | December 7, 2015 | MTV | |
| Below Deck Mediterranean | Mark Cronin | May 3, 2016 | present | Bravo | |
| Truck Night in America | Christian Sarabia
James Patrick Costello II |
March 18, 2018 | March 28, 2019 | History Channel | |
| The Grand Hustle | T.I. | July 20, 2018 | October 4, 2018 | BET | |
| T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle | T.I.
Tameka Cottle Brian Sher |
October 22, 2018 | June 29, 2020 | VH1 |
2020s
| Title | Creator(s) / Developer(s) | Premiere date | End date | Network | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Below Deck Sailing Yacht | Mark Cronin | February 3, 2020 | present | Bravo | |
| Married to Real Estate | Egypt Sherrod Mike Jackson |
January 13, 2022 | May 28, 2025 | HGTV | |
| Below Deck Down Under | Mark Cronin | March 17, 2022 | present | Bravo | Aired on Peacock for its first season. |
| Hack My Home | Ming Lee Howell | July 7, 2023 | Netflix | ||
References
- ^ a b Adalian, Josef (2008-04-01). "Endemol lands reality house". Variety. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
- ^ Keveney, Bill (4 August 2006). "It's Flavor's time to shine; Rapper looks for love; genre finds success". Life. USA Today. p. E.10. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- ^ Lafayette, Jon (5 November 2007). "Outrageous Folks Fuel 51 Minds' Ideas; Building on VH1 Success, Producers Look to Broadcast Nets". News. Television Week. 26 (41): 4. Archived from the original on 17 September 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- ^ Martin, Denise (12 July 2005). "VH1 makes 'Surreal' deal; Cabler pacts with 'Life' producers for series". Variety. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ Elber, Lynn (4 October 2007). "At VH1, Two Reality Producers Rule". The Boston Globe. Associated Press. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- ^ "Megan Wants A Millionaire Officially Canceled | Blog Archive | Vh1 Blog". blog.vh1.com. Archived from the original on 2009-08-28. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ^ "The murder that changed reality TV". EW.com. Archived from the original on 2025-06-02. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ^ Snider, Mike (5 March 2010). "Have a PlayStation? You can watch 'The Tester'; Reality series is available only on consoles". USA Today. p. D.12. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- ^ Dean, Sadie (2021-12-14). "Shaping Reality: An Interview with Prolific Emmy-Nominated Television Creator and Producer Mark Cronin". Script Magazine. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ^ "Interview with Reality TV Executive Producer Mark Cronin, Little Wooden Boat Prod, 51 Minds". ipitch.tv. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ^ "Mark Cronin | PRODUCER/WRITER/CREATOR OF 'BELOW DECK'". natfluence. Retrieved 2026-04-09.