Biography
Michael Branton has been a key player in unscripted entertainment for networks across the U.S. and around the world, creating a wide range of popular shows for diverse audiences. Michael's production company, Happy Trails Productions, develops and produces programming for networks and platforms worldwide.
Prior to Happy Trails Productions, as Executive Vice President at GRB Entertainment, Michael was responsible for the creative direction of hundreds of hours of prime time programs. He co-created Intervention for A&E, executive producing 222 hours and winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program.
Michael's documentary feature, The Right to Know: America's Adoption Crisis, received awards from the New York Festivals and WorldFest Houston.
Michael has produced ratings winners for ABC, NBC, Fox, A&E, Lifetime, History, Discovery, Animal Planet, TLC, ID, VH1, Spike, Travel, Nat Geo, France's Canal+, and Germany's Sat 1 - to name a few. Along the way, he has developed trusted relationships among key buyers across the television spectrum.
A native of San Francisco, Michael began his career as a freelance journalist for Rolling Stone, New West, The Bay Guardian and Sounds (UK). After profiling artists ranging from Pink Floyd to Frank Zappa, Michael set out to bring his pop culture sensibilities to television. He was a co-founder of the groundbreaking TV production company, VideoWest, which produced innovative music videos, 400+ music news stories for MTV, and cutting-edge programming for ABC, HBO, PBS, TNT and Showtime.
In 2015 Michael was executive producer of his first scripted feature, Bad Night, for Netflix. The comedy's talented cast includes Matt Walsh (Veep), Jack McBrayer (30 Rock), Casey Wilson (Gone Girl, Happy Endings), Adam Pally (The Mindy Project), Molly Ringwald (The Secret Life of the American Teenager, The Breakfast Club) and June Diane Raphael (Grace & Frankie). Michael is a member of the Writers Guild of America and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Some of Michael's extensive Executive Producer credits include: Storm Stories: The Next Chapter - The Weather Channel, Sex Sent Me To The ER - TLC, Intervention - A&E, Bone Detectives - Discovery, Pregnant & Dating - WE tv, Showdown Of The Unbeatables - Nat Geo, Next Action Star - NBC, Fame In The Family (Pilot) - E!, Twisted Tales Of My 9 to 5 - ID, Untold Stories Of The ER - TLC, #RedFlag - HLN, Reconciled - OWN, Extreme Animal Obsessions- Animal Planet, Growing Up Gotti - A&E, Aftermath with William Shatner - Bio, Confessions: Animal Hoarding - Animal Planet. Starving Secrets with Tracey Gold - Lifetime, Relapse - A&E, Stepmonsters (Pilot) - A&E. Wives With Beehives (Pilot) - TLC, I Object (Pilot) - VH1, The Secret Life Of A Soccer Mom - TLC, We Mean Business - A&E, Outrageous Births: Tales From the Crib - Discovery Life, Diagnose Me - Discovery Life, Flight Attendant School - Travel, Full Force Nature - The Weather Channel, Beauty Shop Secrets - CMT, Tuckerville - TLC, Is It Possible? - Discovery, Extreme Contact - Animal Planet, Scambushed - Travel, Hollywood's Greatest Stunts - AMC, Second Chance - TLC, Cinema Secrets - AMC, Masters Of Illusion: Wizards Of Special Effects - NBC, Live! The World's Greatest Stunts - Fox, Movie Magic - Discovery
