Craig Piligian

Craig Piligian (born August 25, 1957) is an Armenian American television producer, and the President and CEO of Pilgrim Films & Television. As an Executive Producer, he is best known for creating The Ultimate Fighter, American Chopper, and Dirty Jobs series for Discovery Channel. In 2001, he won an Emmy Award as co-executive producer of Survivor.^[1]

In November 2003, Piligian began producing Dirty Jobs, a series on the Discovery channel that focused on blue-collar jobs. The show ran for eight years and aired over 170 episodes.^[2][3] The show ended in 2012.^[2][3]

In 2004, Piligian worked with Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta to bring a reality show about mixed martial arts, called The Ultimate Fighter, to television.^[4] The reality series followed sixteen fighters who lived in a house and competed for a UFC contract.^[5]

In 2012, Piligian was ranked 18th on The Hollywood Reporter's "50 Most Powerful List".^[6]

In 2015, Lionsgate purchased a major stake in Piligian's Pilgrim Studios for $200 million.^[7][8]

In March 2016, Piligian partnered with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon to create The Runner, an original series about mobile devices streaming on go90.^[9][10] In 2018, Piligian worked with Roger Ross Williams to develop High on the Hog, a docuseries depicting African American history through the lens of food, based on Dr. Jessica B. Harris’ book High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America.^[11]

In April 2021, Piligian was named chair of Pilgrim Media Group and president.

He is married to Lucinda Dickey; they have two children, Joseph Michael (b. 1986) and Amanda Marie (b. 1989).^[12] In 2016, Piligian purchased a historical ranch property in Kansas for $5.325 million.^[13]

• Craig Piligian at IMDb
• Pilgrim Studios homepage

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