REALITY OF REALITY

So much fun today with repeat guest Jason Sarlanis. To get some background on Jason, you can listen to our great chat from June 11th 2018. We talk all about his career rising from young assistant at E! To SVP of development of unscripted at TLC. Jason wanted to come on again to talk about his Queen Kelly Clarkson and her new daytime talk show. We also talk about the famous family he helped put on the map, give some Emmy predictions and talk about TLC's first foray into true crime!

Izzie Pick-Ibarra came across the pond many years ago to help get the US version of DANCING WITH THE STARS off the ground after she made it a hit in the UK. She ended up staying in LA, working many gigs in TV over the years, most recently as Executive Producer of the hit Fox show THE MASKED SINGER which has it's second season premiere on Fox September 25th. It’s weird and addictive in all the best ways (I'm obsessed!). Izzie shares ALL the inside info on how it got to air, the story of how TPain pulled off the season 1 win and what the judges are really like off air.

Back by (very) popular demand, Criminal Behavioral Analyst and Victims Rights Advocate Laura Richards is back on the podcast to break down UNTOUCHABLE - the Harvey Weinstein documentary now streaming on Hulu. We talk about the serial predator and monster who hid in plain sight for decades, the morally corrupt people and systems who enabled him, the brave women who had to endure physical and emotional trauma, often losing their careers in the process and the tenacious journalists who finally broke the dam of silence. And yeah - we're pissed off!

Here’s the story... of a VERY exciting Brady podcast! I’m thrilled to have my friend and amazingly talented Discovery executive Loren Ruch on the podcast today. Among a million other things he’s done in his career, Loren helped bring A VERY BRADY RENOVATION to life which premieres Monday Sep 9th @ 9pm on HGTV. Loren tells me how it went from a crazy concept to a reality and shares what it was like to work alongside the show's stars to renovate the epic 70's house right here in Studio City. We'll talk about some other fun shows he's worked on and most importantly - what the Property Brothers are REALLY like to work with!

Reality of Reality is officially a weekly pod! And to kick it off, I’m recapping one of my favorite shows - Real Housewives of Orange County -with fellow fan and podcaster Jess Zadeh from The Real Housewives of the Westside podcast. We had so much fun talking about these crazy train wrecks and their epic road trip (90 minutes?) to Beverly Hills! (Really guys?). Enjoy the mess!

Today on the podcast - Ben Berman. Ben is the very talented director whose incredible documentary THE AMAZING JOHNATHAN DOCUMENTARY just dropped on Hulu last week after premiering at Sundance earlier this year. The best way to listen to this podcast is to watch the doc first but you can still enjoy it then watch because we have very few spoilers. It's a brilliant tour de force in filmmaking and totally blew me away. We break it all down and get all the behind the scenes of the behind the scenes of the behind the scenes (you'll see - it's beyond meta). Also - listen to the intro for a special announcement!

If you've ever watched the hit Food Network show CHOPPED (how can you not?), you'll want to listen to today's podcast. Dave Noll is behind creating the show, now in it’s 10th year. As a fan of the show - what Dave calls the "4,3,2,1 format" - I was fascinated with the story of how it came to be. And as you’ll hear, this was NOT an easy one to get to the finish line. But it's proof that not all hits happen overnight. not even close on this one. Enjoy!

Dave is probably best known for Executive Producing the hit MTV show CATFISH, now going into it’s 8th (!) season. As someone who loved the documentary, I’ve always been curious about how that show is produced and Dave shares some really interesting behind the scenes tid bits and stories. Dave was also there for the genesis of QUEER EYE for the STRAIGHT GUY for Bravo back in the day and he tells a great story on how that show came to be and got off the ground. Enjoy!

She's one of my personal heroes and someone I feel so honored to talk to - uber producer and inspiring human Sherri Salata. I first found out who Sheri was watching my favorite unscripted show ever - Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes - one of the first shows on the OWN network years ago. Sherri spent 21 years with Oprah and shares the ups and downs of working on one of the most challenging shows to produce. We also talk about her fabulous new book THE BEAUTIFUL NO. It’s a great read - all about how she ended up on the journey she’s on now. She also has a great podcast called the Sheri and Nancy show - trust me you want to start binging that one from the beginning!

So honored to talk to the daughter of legendary radio icon Casey Kasem. Kerri Kasem is one of Casey’s 3 children and a great broadcaster and activist in her own right. If you keep up on the news, you've probably heard some stories in the last 5 years about the insane battle that’s gone on between Casey’s kids and his wife Jeanne. I'll be shocked if your jaw is not on the floor after you’re done listening to his podcast. Make sure to visit https://www.kasemcares.org to learn more about elder abuse and how you can help get laws passed to help your family members and others.

Karamo Brown is one of the Fab5 on the Netflix reboot of QUEER EYE (which if you’re not watching you need to be!). Karamo brings heart and soul to the show that always makes us cry because he really gets to the core of who the hero is and what’s stopping them in their life. Karamo is as lovely, smart and funny in real life as he is on the show. We talk all about QUEER EYE and his history on reality TV (REAL WORLD anyone?). You’ll hear me refer to his book a lot which a really good autobiography of his life - a lot of which will surprise you. it’s called KARAMO and it’s out now on Amazon and in bookstores. Enjoy!

Casting guru and producer Katy Wallin has been in the business a long time with an incredible resume- casting unscripted TV since the early oughts - but doing a lot of fascinating TV stuff before then. Her story of how he started her career in LA is right out of a movie. How she met her iconic mentor? Even more amazing. Her company MysticArt is getting ready to launch an exciting game show on ABC this summer with Ryan Reynolds which we talk about (and casting is going on. Her positivity is infectious and I hope you’ll be as inspired by her as I was.

He's an old friend who gossips for a living and is always a blast to talk to. Rob Shuter's in my phone as "Naughty but Nice Rob" because that’s also the name of his gossip website where he dishes on everything but is never mean. I met Rob working together on a fun idea for a show we cooked up based around his hilarious and outgoing personality. We talk about how even ended up in the gossip game and he gives us a behind the curtain look at how the whole publicity game is actually played. Enjoy!

When you meet on Facebook, do each others podcasts, but never meet in person, there's every chance your new besties will turn out to be serial killers. Well, that's still possible - but if so, they're the most fun, murderers I've ever met! Erin, Mary Payne, Jessica and I recap our amazing dinner with the one and only Countess Luann, her "we should have been drunk" cabaret show and of course dish Housewives galore. Chic c'est la vie!

Excited to finally have the fabulous and hilarious LaKendra Tookes on the podcast. I first heard LaKendra on Amy Phillps' radio show on Radio Andy and laughed so hard I became obsessed with her and her housewife and reality TV musings. She’s a comedian, actress and pop culture TV host who wrote for Saturday Night Live a few years ago. We talk about that great story and of course dish on all the housewives drama. Come for the Drake story and stay for the Dorit and PK rant!