Reality Of Reality

The incredibly talented Eddie Schmidt is quite the multi-hyphenate. He’s an award winning prolific documentarian and and a very seasoned unscripted show runner. And now that those 2 worlds are intersecting in a really interesting way in our business, it’s a great time to be Eddie! Eddie is a special gem in our business and I urge you to watch all his work as soon as you can!

He's probably the most well known casting person in our business. Doron Ofir has notoriously cast some the most iconic reality shows of all time including Jersey Shore, Ru Paul's Drag Race, Joe Millionaire and Party Down South. He's done hundreds more and has got some incredible stories of how he finds and connects with random people to turn them into great characters for television. He also waxes philosophical about how reality TV got us into the presidency and why he wants every show he casts to look like a John Hughes 80 movie. You won’t find a better(or more insightful) talker in this business!

For the 20th episode of the podcast, we're turning the tables. My friend and colleague Tim Duffy is asking me the questions. Yes, I am my own guest. I’ve been hearing for a while now that at least some of you want to know more about me and my background. So I'll answer burning questions like: how did I end up starting my career in Bangor Maine and getting chased by men with machetes into the Thai jungle. I have been very humbled by all the feedback I get from my listeners and appreciate everyone who listens. I would love for you to follow me on social media at @realityofreal and spread the word to your friends in and out of the business. Thank you for all the love and support!!

It's OUR FIRST REALITY STAR and bono-fide celebrity - Lisa Rinna! She went from actress to big-time reality star a few years ago when she joined the cast of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. It wasn’t her first foray into reality but she’s definitely made quite the splash -feuding with everyone from Kim to Yolanda to Lisa Vanderpump. She’s not afraid to take anyone on and that’s what makes her so much fun to watch and talk to. She’s gorgeous, funny smart and inspiring and I’m so glad I had the chance to sit down with her the same week of the RHOBH premiere. PS - I'm on Twitter @realityofreal.

This podcast is where reality TV and pop culture intersect in one human being! Julia Cunningham is host of EW's SiriusXM radio show LA Daily and her job it is to watch TV all day, every day. We dig deep into reality TV and she explains why the Bachelor is the best reality show ever. Julia’s also a true crime junkie and a BRAVO lover - where she especially loves a good “shape shifter” - she’ll explain. Enjoy!

They're famous for producing hit shows like FACE OFF on Sy Fy and HOLLYWOOD GAME NIGHT for NBCToday. Dwight Smith and Michael Agbabian- are co-owners of the company Mission Control. Dwight and Michael have been producing partners for a long time and shockingly have never gotten into one fight! You’ll hear them break down how they created Face Off and about the incredible night when Hollywood Game Night became a reality. Plus the joys of working with a celebrity EP who really gets his hands dirty (you'll have to listen to find out who!)...

Today on the podcast: my first guest to run a celebrity production company. Steve Harris runs the unscripted division of Marlan Wayans company Workaholics Entertainment. Steve met Marlon in college and the road to their partnership was paved with a first (unsuccessful) attempt to move to LA, lots of producing gigs and network executive gigs including one at A&E where Steve put icons on the air like MC Hammer, Shaquile O'Neil and the Jackson family. You’ll hear what it took to convince Papa Joe to put his family on TV and what happens when Michael (yes that Michael) calls you out of the blue. And Steve's biggest regret is my favorite one to date. Enjoy!

Today on the podcast I'm going out of the box -just a little - but whether you're in this industry or not I think you'll find this interview as fascinating as I do. Darrell Miller is a very well known and respected entertainment attorney here in Los Angeles He runs the entertainment practice of Fox Rothschild where, as one client says he's more of a "consigliere" than a lawyer. Darrell's got a lot of famous clients in reality, scripted, film, and music. He takes each of them on as a brand which he talks about in his book The "16th minute of fame" which is part instruction, part memoir and many parts inspirational -like Darrell himself.

If you watched the Case of JonBenet Ramsey on CBS you'll be familiar with my two guests Jim Clemente and Laura Richards. They aren't just the lead investigators on the documentary-series but they're also my Co-Executive Producers. While there's a lot of information about the case out there, this is a peek behind the curtain of how we put the show together and sold it and what it took to do an in-depth investigation on a crazy production timetable. We also talk about some of the footage that didn’t make it to air that will air internationally on the 6 hour version.

An exciting day on the podcast with the Queen of all things Bravo: AMY PHILLIPS!! If you watch WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE and any of the Housewives shows, you have probably seen her spot on impressions of the ladies which are hilarious and brilliant. Amy hosts the Sirius XM radio show REALITY CHECKED every Tuesday and Thursday morning and she's game to do anything which makes her a fantastic guest!

Today on the podcast - 2 of the best guys in the business - Tim Duffy & Mike Duffy - twins and co-partners at Ugly Brother Studios. They’re on fire with lots of new exciting projects including the much buzzed about Emeril Eats the World premiering on Amazon Sep 2nd. We talk about the incredible places they got to see and eat producing this show (you will salivate) and have some REAL talk about the business. Truth telling never felt so good!

This week on the podcast..one of the best-known and well-respected producers in the business Jason Carbone. He started on some of the best early MTV shows (Real World, Road Rules) and was the first producer hired on a little show called The Bachelor. Now considered one of Godfathers of “celeb-reality” (remember Run’s House?) he’s producing one of the best shows on TV right now - Barely Famous - on VH1. He’s got so many great stories, I could have talked to him for hours. Enjoy!

If you can't get enough of the Real Housewives, you have these two Reality heavyweights to thank. Evolution Media partners Doug Ross and Alex Baskin have a stellar reputation in the industry not just for making great television - but also for being great guys which I can vouch for. They produce some of my personal favorites like RH of Orange County and Beverly Hills and talk all about how the franchise started and what it really takes to get a housewife through a season. You'll also hear how their hit show BOTCHED for E! came to be and a tease of the spinoff that's on deck.

A lot of people in our industry take credit for creating the BIGGEST LOSER but only Dave Broome can make the claim for real. We’ll hear all about how he came up with the idea and the journey to make the show - now a billion dollar international franchise as well as his other hit shows and an exciting new one in the works for Netflix. Dave's company is 25/7 because that’s how much he works. His work ethic is only matched by his intense passion which is incredibly infectious.

Today on the podcast: kick- ass producer Eric Evangalista - co-founder of Hot Snakes Media who’s best known for creating the hit shows AMISH MAFIA and BREAKING AMISH. Eric and his wife Shannon own Hot Snakes together and their new show RETURN TO AMISH premieres July 10th on TLC @9pm. He tells me how he survived 14 years in news before making the move to reality and why he’s allowed to film in some of the most dangerous places in the world. Enjoy!

If you don't know him already, you'll wish you did after this interview. Brian Balthazar's a HUGE personality who's a network executive with HGTV, a pop-culture expert who’s a regular on Wendy Williams and The Today Show and has a website called Pop Goes the Week. He also crushes it on social media so follow him immediately and enjoy this entertaining chat!

What’s the real reason Bethenny and Jill are no longer friends?? These and other burning questions will be answered on today’s podcast with our first studio executive, Jennifer O’Connell! Jen is the head of unscripted at Lionsgate Television and knows all about the Real Housewives of New York drama because she was one of the producers who helped get the show off the ground. She’s had a big career overseeing some of the biggest shows in reality TV (see: Biggest Loser) and is one of those people in the business that everyone just seems to love - including me!

It's heavy hitter time with reality producer Brant Pinvidic. If you're a network executive, you know his pitches are among the most creative in the business. And if you've seen his documentary, you know why he's not on Facebook. Brant's created hit shows like Bar Rescue and almost passed on another that became a huge hit anyway (gotta listen to find out). He hangs with reality royalty like Spencer Pratt and David Foster and has worked with just about everyone else in between. Enjoy a really fun and enlightening conversation!

How do you turn a TV hosting gig into a lifestyle brand?? Just ask Sabrina Soto - my guest on this week's podcast. Sabrina’s come a long way from our days working on a TLC daytime show together.You might recognize her from her Target commercials and hundreds of episodes of many shows on HGTV. We had a totally unfiltered conversation about her career path, how seriously she takes her brand and how bloggers are taking over the lifestyle space. Oh, and her passionate love of the Golden Girls!

This week on the podcast.. it's our first network executive: Sara Auspitz, VP of programming at GSN. She's a reality vet who truly loves the business and goes all in with every show she does. We talk all about Sara's illustrious career, our scary (but classic) moment working on a pilot together and how to stay cool when a producer threatens to punch you in the face.