How I Navigated The Unscripted Television Industry (Part 2 of 3)

THE WORLD CHANGED

Looking back to New York City in 2020 and how it impacted my unscripted television development career is truly remarkable. Waking up every day in our apartment in such an unstable and terrifying world, perpetually in constant fear. This was the one thing that kept me going. That kept me creatively challenged. Just because the world stopped, it didn’t mean I had to. 

We now had Lifetime Network interested in making our concept, an incredible production company partner, and we were off to the races to create a show that we came up with!  I will never forget, looking at our first call sheet with my name on top listed as Executive Producer and Creator!   What would my late-mom think? I never could have imagined that this boy from the Bronx would have this opportunity- it was an almost out of body experience.

As we worked on the show remotely, we realized that the world was changing around us…and so was our show. We initially pitched a show where two people were getting married and only one person could be at the wedding. The missing person was there, but on a Skype (how wild!), and witnessed their own nuptials through a computer screen. What was once unheard of now became commonplace in our new Covid normal.

We worked so hard to make something out-of-the-box and special, but ultimately what made our show so unique wasn’t so unique anymore. Covid changed everything.. including what we believed to be a sure-fire hit.

Lifetime ultimately passed, and although it stung, boy did we learn so much from that experience. Every note we received and every pivot we took made us stronger producers and creators. This experience was something that never in my wildest dreams did I think would happened to me. Looking back now, I realize what an outstanding opportunity it was to cut our teeth making a TV show with the world in the state it was in.  I think my Mom knew exactly what I needed during that time, like she always does.

CREATING MAGIC

One of the most valuable notes we received from our respected lead producer was that we have the innate ability to find content that we can relate to. He told us the most important thing we can do is “look inward” to find our next concept. 

Ok bro.....Now what?

I’ll never forget rollerblading around Central Park and calling my partner Tim, excitedly yelling that we should make a show about a female ice hockey team. As an avid rollerblader, and former ice hockey player, I envision the next Mighty Ducks meets Glow. I had to look to my current environment in order to find our next concept. It was as if a switch went off in my brain, and it is the process I stand by to this day. If I need an idea, I just take a deep breath and look around me.

We found the right team and we were right back at it, Pitching In Pajamas, yet again! Ice Queens was born and we got to meet every major network from the comfort of our own home. What a wild experience- such a different way to do business! 

We learned about ourselves during that process, what our strengths are, and that our passion is what can help sell a television show. We took that show everywhere, but alas, “The world just wasn’t ready for a female sports show."  When I received that note, I listened, and said, absolutely fucking not! We are finding our next show..and its going to be about female sports.

Enter In Sync, the show about all-female synchronized swimmers training for the Olympics. How did the show come about you ask? I was laying on a gurney getting ready to go under anesthesia for a colonoscopy, when my doctor, who always loved to chat and gush about reality TV shows with me, taps me on the shoulder and says, “You should make a show about synchronize swimming, that world is incredible…..now count backwards from 10.”

When I came to, the first thing I did was get dressed and call Tim- maybe not in that exact order, lol.  “We have to make a show about synchronize swimming.” And so on, and so on the process goes….

The true lesson here is that the world can always change around you, but it doesn’t matter when you’re drawing the power of creativity from inside. Creativity becomes you, it becomes part of your DNA, and consumes your thoughts. I have learned that for me, true creativity is derivative. You follow the thread from one place to the next until ultimately you see a pattern. This has been my experience, and I cherish the opportunity that I had to figure this out at such a dark time.

So my Covid story as it relates to my unscripted television career truly is this: Although I was isolated, scared, and detached from the rest of the world-I was able to create magic because I found it within.

BACK OUTSIDE...GULP.

I had no idea how hard it would be coming out of Covid, and having to meet people in this industry for the first time-in person! I had been doing this alone in my pajamas but now it was time to put on a shirt and pants and get back out there. Forever changed, with a new expertise, ready to make a dream happen.

There was something safe about being in the house doing all of this in a silo- somehow it didn’t fully feel real. Imagine my surprise when I realized, it was! 

UP NEXT: ONE EPIC DAY, WILLIAM MORRIS, & WHERE WE ARE TODAY (Part 3 of 3)