Jeff Kmiotek is putting the “reality” back in reality TV with his new production company, ELIXIR.

After he got his start on the UCLA campus as a writer for the Daily Bruin and founder of UCLA TV, alumnus Kmiotek quickly broke into the entertainment industry. Having produced hit TV shows such as “The Masked Singer,” “Food Fighters” and “Family Game Night,” he is now shifting the spotlight onto his endeavors with his production company, ELIXIR. The studio will launch on YouTube on Feb. 11, with four new takes on dating shows specifically tailored to a college-age audience. While the “dating game” may appear to be an oversaturated market in today’s world with series such as “Love Island” and “The Golden Bachelor,” Kmiotek said he aims to place authenticity on center stage.

“We’re just trying to connect people with each other,” Kmiotek said. “I hope that … we are able to create real connections on the shows for the contents, but also people watching could learn different ways … to make connections.”

[Related: Q&A: Craig Cockerill discusses filming process of ‘Deep Fake: Rise of Whisper Breach’]

Kmiotek said he entered the limelight of the entertainment world while reporting on women’s basketball and women’s tennis for the Daily Bruin when he was a freshman before taking on the football beat – which he saw as a prize. Kmiotek said he instantly became hooked on producing widely enjoyable content and because of that, he later helped to launch UCLA TV. The channel aired a live news broadcast with Kmiotek as sports anchor before he eventually wrote and starred in the station’s first sitcom, “Super Seniors,” he added.

Even though the show was comical in nature, Kmiotek said he learned crucial skills regarding television development, such as audio engineering, how to use Final Cut Pro, and, most importantly, how to use a VHS player to air the program at the correct time. Kmiotek said he eventually landed an internship on a comedy sports talk show for ESPN that allowed him to bring his journalistic knowledge of sports and TV production to the starting line. While his time at UCLA TV and ESPN gave him a taste for the industry, Kmiotek said the moment that sparked his love of reality television came from teaching the Burger King mascot how to play blackjack in 2007.

“I was in Vegas doing a show called ‘World Series of Blackjack,’ and Burger King was our sponsor and we had the actual mascot there, and I was directing him, and I was just like, ‘I’m directing the Burger King. What am I doing? This is really cool,’” Kmiotek said.

From there, Kmiotek’s global reality TV tour brought him to some of the best restaurants in the world and even into contact with Rock Paper Scissors champions, he said. While he grew to love the excitement of nonscripted television, Kmiotek said he still ran into the issue of his shows becoming overly fabricated because of too many producers fighting for their voices to be heard. These production problems resulted in the innovation and creativity in ideas to become diluted by the time of execution – a comment echoed by Austin James, who is an executive producer alongside Kmiotek. Having worked on shows like “The Dating Game” for decades, James said he and Kmiotek were excited to bring the fun back into their reality dating shows.

“We wanted to lighten up the whole dating space and give people some room to just be themselves and laugh and have fun,” James said. “That’s sort of the core of dating, right? If you could laugh and just be having fun and open yourself up – that, to me, is when most couples really have a chance to come together.”

Kmiotek said that during the filming of their original program “First Dates in Bed,” a blindfolded guest missed their mark that was six feet away and ended up accidentally walking off of the set. Not only was this a laugh-out-loud moment for the crew, but it created a comically awkward scenario for the awaiting contestant who was unsure if his date would show up, Kmiotek said. Where modern dating shows such as “The Bachelor” are entrenched in the fairy tale facade of finding true love, Chief Strategy Officer at ELIXIR and fellow alumnus Stacey Politi said ELIXIR is focused on showcasing the real person, not their filtered Instagram persona. By letting these awkward moments play out instead of cutting away, it allows for there to be real grit and honesty in these more comedic shows, she added.

[Related: From Tokyo to LA, alumnus Akiyo Fujimura bridges Japanese cinema and Hollywood]

Doubling down on this idea of capturing reality on TV, ELIXIR’s second show, “Red Flag Green Flag,” has contestants open up about their best and worst attributes, Kmiotek said. Politi said that during filming it was refreshing to see younger people be fully authentic and accept every part of the other person. Even the series’ application process helped guests be more accepting of themselves, James said. When reviewing the applicants, he said he was surprised at the length in which people were willing to not only list their red and green flags but the quirks that make them unique as well – equating the experience to a journey of self discovery.

While it may appear to be all fun and games, ELIXIR hopes to use its platform to combat issues plaguing the dating sphere. Kmiotek said he believes that due to the instant gratification of dating apps and other forms of digital media, younger generations are losing their ability to communicate. The mere act of holding hands with someone can seem out of reach, much less forming real connections, he added. Gen Z-centric issues such as these are why Kmiotek said he built his shows around stimulating awkward moments between guests – to allow people to relate to one another and present their genuine selves.

Even outside of the show’s runtimes, Kmiotek said he hopes viewers at home will learn from these programs and find the one who loves them, despite their red flags.

“I think there is a message there just to be your authentic self, and you’ll attract the person that will accept you for who you are,” Kmiotek said.