 Ken Mok, left, renowned TV producer and founder of 10x10 Entertainment, on “Heart to Heart” with the host Lee So-jung airing on Arirang TV Tuesday / Courtesy of Arirang TV |
By Noh Hyun-gi
“Congratulations. You are still in the running to become America’s next top model.” Tyra Banks has been delivering the fate of aspiring models in America’s Next Top Model, a reality show, since the first season aired in 2003.
The show is now in its 17th season and has inspired reality shows for top models in numerous countries including “Korea’s Next Top Model.”
Ken Mok, 50, the producer of the blockbuster show, and the founder and president of 10x10 Entertainment, tells his story on the talk show “Heart to Heart” which will air Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. on Arirang TV.
Mok says that Banks suggested making the show. She shared her life story of becoming one of America’s top models which became the foundation of the show. Banks has been the charismatic host of the show.
Chinese-American Mok faced parental pressure from his Chinese parents to become a white-collar professional like a doctor or a lawyer. But he had passion for TV.
So he left his first job out of college at a textile company and took a job at CNN News. But Mok was drawn more to the entertainment world than news. He moved to producing “The Cosby Show,” a situation comedy from NBC starring Bill Cosby and one of the biggest TV hits in the 1980s in America.
With Cosby’s enthusiastic support, Mok became the first Asian board member of NBC and a producer for primetime shows. After his work at NBC, Mok continued to produce shows for ABC and MTV until he decided to become his own boss and founded 10x10.
Mok thanks Cosby for supporting him in the entertainment industry which is still not favorable for Asians. “There are only a few Asians, especially at the managerial level in the entertainment industry in America. I faced discrimination when I started working. I wouldn’t have made it here if I hadn’t met Bill Cosby. “
On “Heart to Heart,” Mok will share his journey to the top and his future plans to produce shows for Asia.
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