REALITY OF REALITY

She's a powerhouse executive who works behind the scenes to quietly run one of the biggest production companies in our industry. Ryann Lauckner's quiet calm and smarts is what made her climb the ranks at Asylum Entertainment - from a low level producer to the Executive Vice President of Programming where she’s overseeing shows for major networks and keeping the train on the tracks every day - no easy feat. Ryan's road is not a traditional one — starting as a poor kid in North Dakota, to film school at USC, to her first job on one of the biggest competition reality series, to reluctantly climbing the ranks, to grabbing the bull by its horns at Asylum, Ryann is a true inspiration. **PLEASE GO TO ITUNES TO GIVE ME A 5 STAR RATING AND SHORT REVIEW -THANK YOU!!

Today on the podcast, TV producer, actor, radio personality and Andy Cohen bestie John Hill. I first heard of John when I started listening to Andy Cohen’s radio show a few years back and had no idea he was a prolific reality producer who has worked on shows like Tori and Dean, Project Runway, Top Chef and Watch What Happens Live. John started as an actor and still gets to let that personality shine on Andy’s radio show and his own show on Radio Andy THE FEELS. John and I have a lot of fun talking about his non-traditional career trajectory and he tells me the real story of how he and Andy met-cute. **PLEASE GO TO ITUNES TO GIVE ME A 5 STAR RATING AND SHORT REVIEW -THANK YOU!!

He's an amazing person AND an amazing producer who I absolutely adore and he’s responsible for one of the reality TV’s earliest hits. David Collins created QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY back in 2003 with his partner Michael Williams at Scout Productions. It was a totally unique idea that turned Bravo, a network no one had ever heard of, into a household name. It was such a revolutionary show, that 15 years later, Netflix had the brilliant idea to re-boot it with a new Fab5 and a new location. David and I talk the inspiration for Queer Eye and the rest of his interesting and sometimes surprising career. Make sure you stream the new Queer Eye starting Feb 7th on Netflix! **PLEASE GO TO ITUNES TO GIVE ME A 5 STAR RATING AND SHORT REVIEW -THANK YOU!!

A very exciting day on the podcast! I sit down with a guy I watch every week on my TV screen, at least when the show is in season. James Harris is one half of the dynamic British real-estate duo selling multimillion dollar homes every Thursday night on Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles. James started doing real estate at 16 years old and hasn’t stopped since. We talk about how he really feels about his fellow realtors on the show, how the show is produced and why its worth it to spend 30 thousand dollars on a lavish open house. **PLEASE GO TO ITUNES TO GIVE ME A 5 STAR RATING AND SHORT REVIEW -THANK YOU!!

He's a very well known name in our industry who's worked in every pocket of unscripted. Howard Owens started as an agent, moved to the production side, then jumped to the network side, then came back to the producer's side a few years ago with Propogate Content, a company he started with Ben Silverman, his former partner at Reville. Needless to say -it’s been quite a ride - and we get into all of it: the journey from Law school, to outdoor billboards, to the agency mailroom, to one of the most prolific producers in our industry... Howard is in a league of his own!

She's a fierce woman and network executive who's responsible for some of your favorite guilty pleasure shows. Damla Dogan is the SVP of Programming Development at E! Entertainment where she oversees unscripted series and live events. She’s led some series you may have heard of like KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS, TOTAL DIVAS, SECOND WIVES CLUB and REVENGE BODY with Khloe Kardashian -just to name a few. Damla’s been at the network 10 years and counting. She spent time producing scripted and unscripted content before that, so that makes her one of those execs that producers just love working with!

Today on the podcast, another kick ass amazing rock star in our industry - Robyn Latteker Johnson. Robyn stands out because she’s done something very few people have done in unscripted - going from producer to network executive to manager. Robyn’s had great success on the network side as a development executive at SyFy and BET, but her move to become manager surprised even her. Yet, in many ways, it was the perfect culmination of her illustrious career that proves saying "yes" and making your own destiny will get you places.

Today on the podcast, comedienne, writer, entreprenuer and all around super impressive uber reality fan, Kate Casey. Kate hosts a successful podcast called REALITY LIFE WITH KATE CASEY and also recaps reality shows on her website Love and Knuckles www.loveandknuckles.com. She’s spoken to more present and former reality stars than maybe anyone on the planet and is even friends with a bunch of them. Kate has had a wildly fascinating life - from her former (unexpected) career to her rough childhood, she’s refreshingly honest about all of it.

He's a legendary producer and director with a long and storied career. Joel Gallen has carved out a unique niche as THE go to guy for live events, music, comedy and even as “the disaster guy.” He’s produced 17 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, countless award shows, A list comedy concerts, every Comedy Central Roast and the list goes on. I have to say Joel’ story about Prince might be my very favorite story on the podcast to date. Enjoy!

Another network executive sitting down for the podcast and this time it's producer turned exec Chachi Senior. Chachi is now Senior vice President of Original Series at the Paramount Network (nee Spike) where he’s also in charge or development. The fact that Chachi's even AT a network at all might surprise you when you hear about his career path from a filmmaker to a reality producer with a REALLY fascinating stop in between (hint - not in television).

Excited to have another accomplished network exec on the podcast! Jonas Larsen is Comedy Centrals Executive Vice President of Talent and Development. He hails from Denmark - a first for this podcast - and his amazing journey from Denmark to LA has a lot of twists and turns - and may not be what you expect from the guy who went after Charlie Sheen to be roasted on the Comedy Central Roast. We’ll hear all about how he got to where he is and how Temptation Island and the Joe Schmo Show turned out to be pivotal moments in a very interesting career path.

Today on the podcast, one of my favorite people, not just in the business but in life! My good friend Drew Tappon finally came to the hot seat which he found out wasn’t so hot and we actually had a great time. We talked about his long successful career on the network side, studio side and now the production company side. He’s currently the chief creative officer for Sally Ann Salsano’s hugely successful 495 productions which created mega hits like Jersey Shore and Party Down South. Drew is an EMMY winner for a wonderful show on A&E called BORN THIS WAY and you maybe shocked where he stores those Emmys..

It’s our second casting guru on the podcast. Jacqui Pitman is widely known through Hollywood as, "the Casting Director with an Executive Producer's eye.” She started her casting career in the late 80's then detoured into producing for 10 years and has run her own casting and production company since 2009. She's cast basically every single show you’ve ever heard of and her resume is too long to list but she tells us the highlights. Jacqui's story is not just impressive but incredibly inspiring too.

Sasha Alpert's a rare gem in this business because she does 2 very different jobs at the same company. She's in charge of casting at Bunim Murray and also created and runs their documentary division. She's produced award winning films like VALENTINE ROAD and AUTISM THE MUSICAL and her latest doc is called THEY CALL US MONSTERS - now streaming on Netflix. Sasha's also cast some of the most well known shows in the history of reality TV and I loved talking to her about her illustrious career.

It's our first agent on the podcast! Alec Shankman has created a powerhouse division at Abrams Artists not just representing talent and producers in unscripted, but he's created and runs the digital, licensing and branding division where his clients are making waves and money running their own shows online. We talk about how to make it in the digital landscape and why producers need to think differently when it comes to this space.