Reality TV: THR's 50 Most Powerful List

It turns out there’s a greater value — beyond headlines — to laying claim to one of the most controversial reality series in history. Such was the case with Emmerson’s docuseries for TLC, All-American Muslim.

PHOTOS: THR's 2012 Reality Power List

“Did I ever expect we would be all over Jon Stewart’s show, on the front of newspapers? No! It provoked a huge debate that I think television should do sometimes,” says the U.K. native, 42, a married father of three.

With Muslim shuttered after its first season, he is setting his sights on expanding VH1’s top-rated franchise, Basketball Wives (an L.A. spinoff has been given a season-two order), and delving into celebrity culture with Hollywood Exes and Ev and Ocho, chronicling the upcoming nuptials between Wives’ Evelyn Lozada and NFL star Chad Ochocinco. Emmerson also is eyeing untapped areas for new fare, one of which comes from Randy Jackson and puts celebrities in jobs outside their respective industries.

COMPLETE LIST: THR's 2012 Reality Power List

The buzz word when pitching unscripted projects, says Emmerson, “is to be organic. People want authentic and less constructed shows: ‘Would this guy be doing this anyway if it wasn’t for a TV show?’”