Bethenny Frankel Inks Major Deal with MGM TV and Mark Burnett

Frankel previously worked with Burnett on NBC’s The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005 and ABC’s Shark Tank, starting with Season 9 in 2017 and 2018.

“We are thrilled to have Bethenny Frankel join the MGM television family and bring her unique entertainment savvy that has been loved by viewers since her appearance on The Apprentice and Shark Tank,” Burnett said in a statement about the deal.

President of unscripted television for MGM Television Group Barry Poznick added, “Bethenny is a force. Her energy, attitude and entrepreneurial experience align perfectly with what we have planned for MGM in the years ahead for new network, cable, SVOD and syndication series.”

For her part, Frankel said, “I am truly honored, humbled and grateful to be working with the powerhouse game changer Mark Burnett, the innovative Barry Poznick and to have access to the unparalleled resources at MGM television.”

This is not Frankel’s first time working off camera for television. She launched her own TV production company, B Real Productions, in 2015 and produced two seasons of a show called Food Porn. Frankel also created and produced her Manhattan real estate-focused buddy series Bethenny and Fredrik on Bravo, featuring her and Million Dollar Listing New York broker and fellow Hamptonite Fredrik Eklund. Little known fact: She also worked as a production assistant on the set of Saved By the Bell, starring eventual Hampton resident Tiffany Amber Thiessen, and ran from 1989–1993.

In addition to her talent for stealing scenes in The Real Housewives of New York City, Frankel is a shrewd businesswoman who created the wildly successful Skinnygirl brand, including Skinnygirl cocktails, which she sold for $100 million in 2011.

We expect her deal with MGM to be fruitful.