About the Chief Executive Scoundrel…
Jon Kroll has directed three feature films and produced dozens of television programs, including “The Amazing Race,” for which he was honored with a 2004 Primetime Emmy Award. For four years, he was Executive Vice President, Original Programming, for New Line Television. After leaving, he formed Loveable Scoundrels, Inc., and the company has gone on to produce shows for CBS, MTV, A&E, Lifetime, National Geographic and YouTube. In addition to his producing, Kroll is an Adjunct Professor for USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.
Most recently, Kroll was Executive Producer of Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted for National Geographic, “Pink Collar Crimes” for CBS, and “American Grit” for Fox (starring WWE superstar John Cena). Other recent projects include “Bullseye” and “Utopia” for Fox; Spike TV’s “Ten Million Dollar Bigfoot Bounty”; “The Week the Women Went” for the BBC and Lifetime; “True Life: I’m Breaking Up With My Religion” for MTV; “Flipping Vegas” for A&E; “Pit Bulls & Parolees” for Animal Planet; “High School Confidential” for WEtv; and “Blade: The Series,” Spike TV’s first original dramatic series.
Kroll has produced television programs for nearly every broadcast and cable network. He was commissioned by Lucasfilm and Fox to make “From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Light & Magic.” His other television credits include three seasons of “Big Brother” for CBS, “Masters of Illusion” for NBC, “Movie Magic” for Discovery and “Masters of Fantasy” for SyFy.
Kroll’s feature directing work includes the virtual reality thriller, “Menno’s Mind,” starring Bill Campbell, Stephanie Romanov, Corbin Bernsen, Michael Dorn, Robert Picardo, Robert Vaughn
Kroll recently founded Avocado Entertainment, Ltd., a multimedia production company with the express purpose of producing content for American broadcast, cable and streaming networks from New Zealand.
Adventures in other media…
In addition to film and television, Kroll has written, directed, and produced an eclectic collection of projects in other media. He is an avid photographer and has published twelve books of his photos. He has overseen more than two dozen live stage productions, most recently directing “Freedom of Speech” for the inaugural season of Sci-Fest in Los Angeles. He spent eight months in southern Japan as Supervising Show Director for “Harmonyland,” a theme park featuring Sanrio’s iconic Hello Kitty character and later directed the Ron Howard-hosted Universal Studios Tour. He also penned a graphic novel based on his early childhood, “Tales of a Hippy Kid,” which was published by Ape Comics.
Originally from Northern California, Kroll was raised on a Mendocino County commune without television or electricity. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Film Production and graduated Summa Cum Laude from San Francisco State University. Kroll later completed his M.F.A. at the U.S.C. School of Cinema-Television’s Peter Stark Motion Picture Producing Program. He received perhaps his most humbling education when he played in the 2016 World Series of Poker. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife of more than 30 years, competitive archer Karen Kroll.