Biographie
Decker Watson is a multi-Emmy-winning producer, writer, and director. With nearly two decades of experience documenting blue-collar professions worldwide, he crafts authentic working-class characters and portrays their environments with expertise. Watson is renowned for the feature film Finestkind (Paramount) and television series including Deadliest Catch (Discovery), Ice Road Truckers, IRT: Deadliest Roads (both History), Swords: Life On The Line (Discovery), and Pirate Gold of Adak Island (Netflix).
Building his career by chronicling some of the world’s most dangerous jobs, Watson developed his craft across land, air, and sea in remote regions ranging from Alaska’s Arctic to the Indian Himalayas. As second unit director on Finestkind, he led the action sequences filmed authentically at sea. The film premiered on Paramount+ as the #1 film globally and received a Critic's Choice Award nomination. For Netflix’s Pirate Gold of Adak Island, Watson was the writer, creator, and executive producer. The series reached #4 on Netflix, stayed in the top 10 for several weeks, and garnered over 15 million viewers. As Executive Producer of Deadliest Catch and other shows, Watson has overseen more than 300 hours of highly rated television, frequently the most-watched programs during their broadcast nights. In Season 9, he guided the series to a 12% ratings increase for the premiere compared to Season 8, while Season 10 debuted with the best ratings in three years and held the #1 cable show spot for all 16 weeks.
His accolades include multiple Emmys for Outstanding Reality Series, Real Screen Director of the Year, Best Series, Telly Awards for Best Promo, multiple Reality TV Awards for Outstanding Series, and nominations such as the Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television, several Critic's Choice Awards for Outstanding Documentary or Reality Series, and four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Series.
Watson earned his undergraduate degree from Northeastern University in Boston, then attended the School of Visual Arts in New York. He spent a decade on Madison Avenue as a copywriter and creative director, earning awards including Effies and ADDYs while working at Ogilvy & Mather and McCann-Erickson in New York, and later running his own boutique agency, MadScience Creative. His clients have included Budweiser, Sam Adams, Dos Equis, Rolling Rock, Burger King, Microsoft X-Box, SONY P2P, Dennis Publishing (Stuff, Maxim, and Blender), Coke, Stella Artois, Caffeine Apparel, and Viacom (WNEW FM), managing campaigns with budgets ranging from $2 million to $400 million annually.
Currently, Watson is focused on writing and developing feature films, scripted series, and documentaries.
