Reality Of Reality

The cousins – Sarah and Miriam Kanter – are back for another fun recap- this time of THE CROWN. The incredible Netflix series dropped it’s fourth season recently. It’s based on real events in the royal family and we try and separate fact from fiction (with the help of other podcasts, documentaries and Wikipedia). We dive into the royal family dynamics, Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s marriage (and his long time affair with Camilla Parker Bowles) and Margaret Thatcher’s stint as Prime Minister of England.  And we also compete for who has the worst (or best?) Thatcher accent. Enjoy! Follow me: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

Today on the podcast, the women who brought you new Starz documentary Seduced: Inside the Nxivm Cult. I had the pleasure of talking with the Executive Producers Cecilia Peck and Inbal Lessner about how this four part series came to be. The first order of business was telling the women’s stories by women – all in key positions of production.  We talk about how a cult member trying to recruit Cecilia led them to this dark story, how India Oxenberg became the focal point of the series and what it was like  producing this series at the same time as The Vow. Link to Seduced documentary: https://www.starz.com/us/en/series/59967/episodes?season=1 Link to Brave Miss World documentary: https://www.netflix.com/title/80222025 Link to Brave Miss World website: bravemissworld.com Follow me: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

Drama is going down in Salt Lake City Utah! Never thought I’d say those words – but that is what’s happening on the new Bravo franchise Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Fellow podcaster and hilarious tweeter Ryan Bailey and I break down all the shenanigans. We cover burning questions like is Mary the new Keith Raniere minus the volleyball plus the Versace? Is Meredith’s son the best housewife adjacent character or is T’Challa?! We also talk OC and whether it can redeem itself again… Check out Ryan’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/so-bad-its-good-with-ryan-bailey/id1482820355 Follow Ryan on Twitter: @ryanbailey25 On Instagram: @sobaditsgoodwithryanbailey Follow me: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

Today on the podcast, Sharon Liese and Sasha Alpert. Sharon directed and Sasha produced the amazing new film TRANSHOOD – premiering on HBO and HBO Max on November 14th. It’s a beautiful story following 4 trans kids over the span of five years, documenting their lives and their families, amidst conflict, celebration and change. What makes it even more interesting is all the families live in (conservative) Kansas City, KS against the backdrop of a harrowing political environment for the trans community. It’s a fascinating film and conversation and I hope you’ll check it out and listen! Link to film: https://www.hbo.com/documentaries/transhood Follow me: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

Today on the podcast – Producer extraordinaire Holly Carter. Dr. Holly Carter to be precise. Holly is a force to be reckoned with!  Starting out in casting, then transitioning to managing little acts like Usher,  then creating hits in unscripted like Preachers of LA and Atlanta to recently bringing her 17 year old baby to life – the Clark Sisters – which has done record ratings for LIFETIME and in a pandemic no less. Holly tells us how she did it all – while also being a spiritual grounded person with an amazing head on her shoulders. Enjoy! Holly’s website: http://releve-ent.com Follow me here: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

It’s a behind the scenes look at the new Netflix documentary-series Deaf U that follows students at Gallaudet University – a deaf college based in Washington DC. Executive Producer Eric Evangelista (Hot Snakes Media) and Supervising Producer Naimah Holmes talk about how the show was conceived, how hard it was to sell, what it was like working with deaf crew members and some of the challenges and excitement with creating a unique and groundbreaking show. Check out DeafU on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81035566 Transcript of episode available (transcript offer 70% accuracy). My original interview with Eric: Eric Evangelista Follow me here: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

Can Bravo’s Real Housewives survive a global pandemic and the racial justice movement? RH recap writer Brian Moylan tackled that in his brilliant piece in Vulture this past week and we break it all down in this podcast. Should we cancel housewives like Ramona and Kelly Dodd for their attitude toward masks and traveling in the time of Corona? Can these franchises survive without racial diversity? Do we still want escapist TV from our housewives and can we actually escape reality right now? Listen and learn!:) Link to Brian’s article: https://www.vulture.com/article/the-real-housewives-vs-reality.html Follow me here: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

The country’s falling apart – but at least we have Potomac!!! I’m recapping all the drama, madness and hilarity that is the Real Housewives of Potomac with writer, comedian and TV & podcast personality LaKendra Tookes. We get into the fight to end all fights, the aftermath, the Pastor, his wife and the hot mic and Michael Darby’s endless shenanigans. Enjoy! Follow Lakendra on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lakendratookes/ Follow me on social media: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

Beth Belew is a delightful guest AND a talented producer. She’s currently the Vice President of Long Form Development and Current Programming for Funny Or Die and has spent most of her career producing and developing comedic unscripted shows on her own and on the network side. We cover it all – including Harry Hamlin’s obsession with plants (?!), how it’s possible women did not know they were pregnant, what its like to work with Conan and how to turn a scripted TV show with Kevin Bacon into a podcast. The Last Degree of Kevin Bacon podcast: Follow me on social media: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

Dan Partland is a talented documentary filmmaker who directed and produced an important film you must see now: #Unfit (link below). The first half is medical doctors, mental health professionals and leading Republican influencers talking on the record about the behavior, psyche, condition, and stability of Donald Trump. The second half of the film looks through a historical lens to examine how someone like him even became president, and how this Presidency is mirroring what’s happening all around the world. It’s a must see if you want to understand what is really going on in our country and how much is at stake in this election. LISTEN, WATCH and VOTE! Watch the movie here: unfitfilm.com Follow me on social media: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

Dometi Pongo is a journalist and host the MTV series True Life Crime, MTV News’ Need to Know and Conversations in Context on the Smithsonian Channel. He’s already done a ton in his short career and we get into how it all happened so fast for him (hint: he’s really smart and talented) and what his goals are for the future. We talk shop, Black Lives Matters and why he decided to start taking groups to Ghana a few years back. Enjoy! Find Dometi and his shows here: dometi.net http://www.mtv.com/shows/true-life-crime/episode-guide https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/details/series/conversations-in-context Follow me on social media: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

A lot of people in our industry know Stefanie Ziev, not just from her time as a network executive, but as their personal life coach. Stef’ coaches lots of people inside and outside our industry and now she’s launching a new podcast called Permission to Choose with guests like Mario Lopez and Darin Olien, co-host of the new Netflix show with Zac Efron. Stef and I talk about her career trajectory, how she’s navigating the pandemic (plus tips on how you can keep your sanity) and how to throw off those golden handcuffs and pursue the career or position you really want. I am in my feelings on this one and this might be the first time I actually cry on my own podcast.  You’ve been warned! Find out more about Stefanie, her podcast and how to hire her here: stefziev.com Follow me on social media: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

Casting director Jazzy Collins made headlines when she came out publicly to renounce ABC’s The Bachelor for not doing enough to cast people of color and criticize their lack of diversity behind the camera as well. Jazzy breaks down her powerful post, talks about how she experienced the show as a Black woman and how she’s hoping to change the industry from the inside when it comes to diversity. We also dig into her fun career casting shows like Flirty Dancing and The Circle and what the future looks like. Enjoy!

Courtney Sexton has the best job on the planet! As Senior Vice President for CNN Films since 2013, Courtney works day-to-day with filmmakers to supervise the production of documentary films for theatrical exhibition and distribution across CNN’s platforms. Some of the films we talk about include “Blackfish”, “Three Identical Strangers” and the new doc on HBO Max “On the Trail” – about women journalists covering the campaign trail for CNN. Courtney tells me how these docs came to be, what she’s looking for in a film, and who her “white whale” is as a documentary subject. You might be surprised! Follow me on social media: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

I’m thrilled to have Karina Longworth on the podcast today. Karina is the host of the very successful podcast YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS–every season is another deep dive into a story about old Hollywood. This latest season, THE INVISIBLE WOMAN, is about the life and career of producer Polly Platt. I can’t remember the last time a series affected me so deeply. Karina is a former film critic and writer of books – most recently of Howard Hughes – and her writing and research skills are in full display in this podcast. We get into Polly’s story, how this podcast was able to come together, whether Polly’s experience in Hollywood as a woman would be different today and how doing the podcast effected Karina on a personal level.  Karina’s podcast YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS: http://www.youmustrememberthispodcast.com https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/you-must-remember-this/id858124601 Karina’s latest book: Follow me on social media: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

My friend and TV blogger Brian Samuels is back for another recap of all the best shows we’re watching and recommend. From Fauda to Lenox Hill to Outcry to The Last Dance, we tell you about everything we love from the last few months. And of course we’ll tell you what we love to hate watch (looking at you Selling Sunset) and what you definitely want to miss. Enjoy! Brian’s blog: http://tvuncovered.com Follow me on social media: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

Tracy Tutor’s back for another round on the podcast! Tracy is the only female real estate agent on MILLION DOLLAR LISTING LA and a powerhouse rock star bad ass boss woman. Today we’re talking about her new book – Fear is a Four Letter Word – which is already a best seller (and a book I think every woman should read). We talk about the book, the impossible client from Malibu, the Pasadena drama with David and James and some new changes in her personal life since her divorce. Buy Tracy’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Books-Tracy-Tutor/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ATracy+Tutor Follow Tracy on IG: https://www.instagram.com/tracytutor/ Listen to my first podcast with Tracy here: Tracy Tutor – MILLION DOLLAR LISTING Follow me on social media: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

Carlos King is an uber successful Executive Producer who owns Kingdom Reign – a full service production company here in Los Angeles. He cut his teeth running shows like The Real Housewives of Atlanta and of course my favorite reality show ever Oprah: Season 25 Behind the Scenes. He created and now produces the hit show for OWN Love and Marriage Huntsville and the Netflix series Styling Hollywood. Carlos and I talk about how he started in reality TV, what it was like to meet Queen Oprah and how that show changed his life, why Black reality stars are judged by a different standard than their white counterparts and how he transitioned from show runner to running his own company. Checkout Carlos’s company: http://www.kingdomreignent.com/carlos-king/ Follow me on social media: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

Back for the third time on the podcast: Laura Richards. Laura is a Criminal Profiler, Behavioral Analyst and Victims Rights Advocate. Today she’s back to talk about the recurring subject of serial predators and how they’re portrayed in unscripted content. I wanted to have Laura back on since Gihslane Maxwell is in the news now. She was finally arrested in the Jeffrey Epstein case and is being held without bail. We’re talking about JEFFREY EPSTEIN: FILTY RICH – the multi-part documentary now streaming on Netflix. We also touch down on ATHLETE A – an excellent doc also on Netflix which looks at how a group of journalists in Indianapolis  exposed Dr. Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse of young gymnasts. Laura gets into how our language needs to change when we talk about these cases, the psychology behind these predators and what we can do to hold them and their enablers accountable.  https://www.laurarichards.co.uk Follow me on social media: Instagram Twitter realityofreality.com

Today on the podcast, I’m continuing my conversation I started a few weeks ago with Black producers in the unscripted industry.  I’m talking to another amazing group of women: Erika Bryant, Jamala Gaither and Nakia Williams-Richardson. Erika is a seasoned Executive Producer who’s worked on shows like OWN’s Family or Fiance and Bravo’s Real Housewives of Atlanta and Married to Medicine. Jamala is a Supervising Producer who just wrapped the HBO Max show The Event, produced Kevin Hart’s What the Fit for YouTube, Flirty Dancing for Fox and Encore! for Disney Plus. Nakia is a content creator and producer – working on shows like American Portrait for PBS, Real Housewives of Atlanta and Potomac for Bravo and Black Ink Crew for VH1. We cover a lot – including what it’s like to be the only black woman on a crew, the obstacles that have stood in their way in the business and what can be fixed to get better content and more representation behind the camera. Follow me on social media: Instagram Twitter rea