Unscripted And Unprepared: A Realscreen Podcast

Happy Holidays! It's the "12 Docs of Christmas" in this special episode with Oscar nominated producer and documentary veteran Justin Lacob as he joins Jimmy to present his curated list of 12 essential documentaries we should all see before it's too late!

Jimmy is joined by former Food Network president Courtney White as the two of them draft competing lists of the greatest food shows of all-time. Plus, Courtney offers her unfiltered take on the differences between west coast TV execs vs east coast TV execs!

After polling executives, producers and agents across the industry, Jimmy and guest Ben Bitonti compile a list of the "New Rules" for the Reality TV business. From phone call/email etiquette, zoom meeting protocols to how many pages should your pitch deck be - the business will forever be changed from this day forward... or not.      

Recorded earlier this year, Allison Wallach discusses the many hats she has worn in the industry from producer, to agent, to network executive.  Allison and Jimmy discuss their favorite all-time FOX reality franchises and how their current crop of reality series differs from the past and why "earnest" is no longer a bad word.

Executive Producer, TV host and podcast personality Carlos King is one of the busiest men in the industry! In this sit down with Jimmy, Carlos traces the beginnings of his career back to him completely hustling the system to land a coveted internship at Def Jam Records. Before too long he found his way to The Real Housewives of Atlanta where he began at the very bottom of the food chain before rising to become the show's showrunner. Carlos then launched his production company and never looked back creating series such as OWN's Love & Marriage franchise and as well as Belle Collective. Carlos is one of the few producers who has made the transition in front of the camera becoming a seasoned TV and podcast host in his own right. Instagram: @jimmybfox // @realscreen Threads: @jimmybfox

In 2005, Scott and Deirdre Gurney founded their production company and quickly grew into one of the biggest success stories the reality TV business has ever seen including the monster hit Duck Dynasty. In this episode, Scott Gurney walks Jimmy through how he got his start in entertainment and lessons learned along the way. Twitter: @IamJimmyFox // @realscreen Instagram: @jimmybfox // @realscreen  

Casey Brumels and his business partner Brad Kuhlman started their production company on a whim. But before long Ping Pong Productions grew to become one of the most successful operations in the nonfiction business and one of Discovery's biggest partners with hits like Expedition Unknown and the smashing success Dr. Pimple Popper. After 100+ episodes, Casey looks back on how Dr Pimple Popper came to be and how close it was to never getting made. Twitter: @IamJimmyFox // @Realscreen Instagram: @jimmybfox // @ Realscreen

The undisputed Queen of Reality TV, SallyAnn Salsano, retraces the major steps in her career in a lively and unfiltered conversation. From her baptism working on The Bachelor to the creation of Jersey Shore to the unlikely series of events that lead to her pairing up Martha Stewart and Snopp Dogg, The Notorious SAS imparts advice and lessons learned along the way for all the aspiring storytellers out there. Twitter: @IamJimmyFox // @Realscreen Instagram: @Jimmybfox // @Realscreen  

Jimmy goes back in the time machine with one of his oldest friends in the business, Amazon Studios's CJ Yu! Recorded at 2023's Realscreen Summit in Austin, TX, the globetrotting executive walks Jimmy through his early days as an assistant at Mark Burnett Productions, the leadership principles of Amazon and how he found a job that marries his love of content with his passion for the international marketplace. Twitter: @IamJimmyFox // @Realscreen Instagram: @Jimmybfox // @Realscreen  

Aaron Saidman is coming in hot! The newly inducted Realscreen hall of famer sits with Jimmy to discuss the wildly successful run he and his business partner and friend Eli Holzman have been on since launching their company IPC in 2016. Aaron relives his experiences first meeting Leah Remini, executing a premium cooking show for Selena Gomez during a global pandemic and what it's like to have not one but TWO full-time jobs! Currently, Aaron is the Co-President of Nonfiction Entertainment, Sony Pictures Television AND President & Co-Founder, The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC), a part of Sony Pictures Television. Twitter: @IamJimmyFox // @realscreen Instagram: @Jimmybfox // @realscreen

Jimmy chats with one of his all-time TV heroes, Phil Rosenthal, the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond and host of Netflix's food & travel series Somebody Feed Phil. Phil discusses the moment he knew Raymond would be a hit, the one liner he pitched networks to sell himself as a TV host and what he has learned since entering the Netflix universe. Twitter: @IamJimmyFox // @realscreen Instagram: @Jimmybfox // @Realscreen  

The prolific Chris Culvenor joins Jimmy for a discussion spanning Chris's origin story in the business adapting US formats in his native Australia to the co-founding of Eureka Productions with his partner Paul Franklin. Chris addresses where his best ideas come from and how highly inventive series such as Holey Moley, Frogger, The Real Dirty Dancing and the upcoming The Real Love Boat came to be. Twitter: @IamJimmyFox // @realscreen Instagram: @Jimmybfox // @realscreen

Jonathan Sinclair joins the program to discuss the wild story of coming to Los Angeles to oversee development for Oprah Winfrey Network without having previous experience as a network buyer! Agents, fielding pitches, filling out a network slate... he approached all of it as an outsider and came away with some incredible lessons learned he wants to share with the U&U peeps! Twitter: @realscreen // @IamJimmyFox Instagram: @realscreen // @jimmybfox      

The delightful Julie Pizzi joins the podcast to discuss the shows she would put on the "Mt Rushmore" of reality TV, taking the reigns at Bunim/Murray after beginning at the company early in her career and the future of content as B/M looks to develop in the NFT space. Twitter: @IamJimmyFox // @realscreen Instagram: @jimmybfox // @realscreen

The Father of Paranormal TV, Jim Casey joins the show to talk about all he has witnessed over his 25 years running Painless Productions including his wild experiences with the supernatural!! Twitter: @IamJimmyFox // @realscreen Instagram: @jimmybfox // @realscreen

What is it like to executive produce the Super Bowl Halftime Show? Or the Grammys? Jesse Collins discusses his rise through the industry; from starting out as a writer to developing one of the most diverse portfolios in our business spanning formatted series such as Netflix's Rythm + Flow and Hip Hop Squares to scripted series such as Kevin Hart's Real House Husbands of Hollywood as well as the biggest LIVE events and specials in our culture today! Twitter: @IamJimmyFox // @realscreen Instagram: @jimmybfox // @realscreen  

What is the greatest American created reality format in history? If you could only work on ONE show the rest of your life - what would it be? Corie Henson sits down to answer these topics and more in a far reaching conversation spanning her stops at E!, ABC, FOX and now running the unscripted slate for three networks at WarnerMedia. Twitter: @IamJimmyFox // @realscreen Instagram: @Jimmybfox // @realscreen

In this episode Jimmy meets Danny Gabai, the Head of VICE Studios who oversees their scripted, documentary and reality TV business. Danny relives his experience working with Jim Carrey on the film Jim & Andy as well as his relationship with director Chris Smith who he worked with on Netflix's documentary Fyre. Plus, Jimmy couldn't resist asking about VICE's upcoming ESPN documentary on American Gladiators. Twitter: @IamJimmyFox // @realscreen Instagram: @jimmybfox // @realscreen

One of the the greatest entrepreneurial success stories in the history of the unscripted business was the formation of Jingle Punks, founded by "Jingle" Jared Gutstadt in 2008. In this episode, Jared tells the story of how he launched and eventually sold his first company, created the theme song for Pawn Stars in 30 minutes, learned to market himself to the reality TV community in the most unexpected of ways AND the audio empire he is now building at Audio Up with business partners such as Dennis Quaid, Anthony Anderson, Stephen King, The Weeknd and many others. Twitter: @IamJimmyFox // @realscreen Instagram: Jimmybfox // @realscreen

Executive Brian Tannenbaum sits down with Jimmy to discuss the future of content for the Roku platform as well as his most memorable experiences during his tenures at both Lionsgate and Quibi.   Twitter: @IamJimmyFox // @realscreen Instagram: @Jimmybfox // @realscreen