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One of Hollywood鈥檚 pioneers in reality TV, Howard Schultz (Comm鈥�75) bares all about his hits like听Extreme Makeover听补苍诲Moment of Truth.

The idea came to听Howard Schultz听(Comm鈥�75) at the end of a long weekend as he crawled into bed in his Los Angeles home and glanced at his TV.

Flickering on the screen was a promotion for an upcoming segment of the daytime tabloid talk show听Jenny Jones Show听about ugly ducks-turned-swans. Schultz, a TV producer, froze for a moment.

鈥淚 grabbed a receipt because it was the only piece of paper I could find on my night stand,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淥n the back, I wrote down two words: Ultimate Makeover.鈥欌��

With a sense of urgency, Schultz immersed himself in what became听Extreme Makeover, the groundbreaking show that gave ordinary people new lives 鈥� and new faces 鈥� after winning an opportunity to undergo plastic surgery. Debuting in 2002, the ABC series altered the course of reality TV, helped trigger a boom in cosmetic surgeries and blew the roof off the ratings to boot.

It was vintage Schultz 鈥� original, risky, highly controversial 鈥� a formula that made MTV鈥檚听Next!听补苍诲 Fox鈥檚听The Moment of Truth听comparable hits for Lighthearted Entertainment, the company he started in 1992 following the success of听Studs, his breakthrough reality show. In its sixth season,听Next!is a speed dating show that has become MTV鈥檚 highest-rated show in the late afternoon time period.听Launched听on听Jan. 23, 2008,听The Moment of Truth听was a game show hosted by Mark Walberg in which contestants answered a series of 21 increasingly personal questions to receive cash prizes. It ended in August 2009.

Schultz sits in his Burbank office down the street from NBC Studios where staff members are busy cranking out听The Tonight Show. It鈥檚 a gloomy rainy day, but the 57-year-old is his usual irrepressible self, chatting about his current project, a reality show with another intriguing premise: in a world dominated by Facebook, do your friends have your back?

鈥淭his is a brutal business,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t will tear your heart apart if you don鈥檛 absolutely adore it. You鈥檙e living on the edge, trying to achieve the impossible nearly all the time in this very risky endeavor. But it鈥檚 been an incredible profession for me.鈥欌��

Although critics usually rip his shows,听The Hollywood Reporter听picked Schultz as one of the top 50 forces in reality TV in 2008, and听Los Angeles Magazine听named him one of the city鈥檚 most influential people in 2003. Not bad for a Chicago boy who arrived at CU in 1974 with little interest in TV beyond watching听Star Trekreruns.

鈥淚 had this plan of taking all my prerequisites in my freshman year 鈥� biology, anthropology, psychology,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淣eedless to say, I got in too deep. I needed a class that was an easy A.鈥欌��

So Schultz took 鈥淚ntroduction to Communications,鈥� followed by 鈥淚ntroduction to Broadcasting,鈥� which ended his plans of running the family printing business.

鈥淚t was almost like I was made for television,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淚t was like a hand fitting into a glove. That鈥檚 the only way I can describe it.鈥欌��

It seemed Schultz was everywhere in those days 鈥� producing shows for the campus TV station, working as a disc jockey for Boulder station KADE, contending for Trivia Bowl titles and returning day after day to a studio/classroom at Folsom Field.

鈥淣obody walked in and knew what they were doing in those days,鈥欌�� says听Bud Leonard听(ConservEdu鈥�72), one of Schultz鈥檚 CU instructors. 鈥淗oward was very sharp, especially on the producing side. He had the passion and the talent.

For example, he got [legendary Hollywood director] Frank Capra into the studio to do an interview. I always wondered how he did it. In this business, courage and belief in yourself are huge factors.鈥欌��

Schultz鈥檚 obsession became his profession when he returned to Chicago for his first TV job. A year later he picked up his first Emmy for a show called听Friday Night.

Before long, Schultz packed his car and headed to Hollywood, a move that temporarily soured him on the business.

But he began working on a series of game shows, news documentaries, dating shows and as a segment producer of the听John Davidson Show.

鈥淗oward is a thinker,鈥� says Ron de Moraes, former director of the听Davidson听show, who works for Schultz.听 鈥淗e鈥檚 always thinking about what he鈥檚 pulling the trigger on. But there was no way of recognizing that he鈥檇 be running his own production company 20 years later.鈥�

In 1992 the听Real World听introduced MTV viewers to living in public, the beginning of the modern reality TV era. When the new genre began mutating into an array of concepts, Schultz was ready for his big, strategic move.

Asked by Fox to come up with a new show, Schultz came back with听Studs, a raunchier version of听Love Connection. It quickly became must-see TV on college campuses.

鈥淚t became a cultural phenomenon,鈥� Schultz says. 鈥淛ohnny Carson and David Letterman were doing jokes about it.听Studs听changed my life because it allowed me to start my own production company.鈥欌��

Sensing a shift in the cultural landscape, Schultz began to look at plastic surgery as a reality premise in the early 2000s. The thought of surgically altering bodies on prime time freaked out one of his assistants. 鈥淵ou could kill someone,鈥欌�� she told him. But Schultz took care to minimize his risk.

鈥淚鈥檇 be lying if I said I wasn鈥檛 scared,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 did realize people could die. That鈥檚 why I spent hours and hours in surgery and handpicked every surgeon. We took out a lot of insurance.鈥欌��

An immediate ratings success,听Extreme Makeover听eventually aired in 100 countries 鈥� in different variations 鈥� as the reality genre went global. It stopped airing in 2005.

鈥淭he show was a game-changer for me,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淚 think it established me for the long haul. Once you鈥檝e had hits, you鈥檙e forever associated with those hits.鈥欌��

Schultz went farther out on the limb in 2008 with听The Moment of Truth, a controversial, scathingly reviewed Fox hit. During the show contestants were hooked up to a lie detector during which they faced personal questions backstage. Then they answered the questions again in front of cameras.听The Moment of Truth听ended up being seen in more than 100 countries.

鈥淭he show really established our presence globally,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淚鈥檝e been blessed not only with the ability to create ideas out of thin air but also to observe things going on in the world. I saw globalization coming long before other producers, and I said, 鈥業鈥檝e got to get into this game.鈥� 鈥欌��

Even at age 57 鈥� old by Hollywood standards 鈥� Schultz is looking around the cultural bend, searching for another big idea.

鈥淩eality shows will be part of TV forever,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淣othing鈥檚 more entertaining than reality.鈥�