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« Matt Roush's America's Next Producer Blog
ANP Judges Diary Blog: The Finale
Beverly Hills is a quiet concrete ghost town on the Saturday morning we gather to begin the process of making our at-long-last final selections on who’ll become America’s Next Producer. For someone like me, who covers the business of TV from the outside, it’s a kick to be participating in an actual pitch meeting at the offices of an actual studio operation: Imagine, a company whose framed posters on the walls speak of success both in movies (A Beautiful Mind) and TV (24, my beloved Friday Night Lights, Arrested Development and Shark).
As we gather early in the morning on what’s going to be a very busy day for the show, we experience what many people do when they come into work on a day off. The air-conditioning isn’t working, but they’re scrambling to remedy that as the perspiring crew prepare for action. Finally, we’re brought into a very cozy room made even more crowded by the presence of four cameras (no room for tripods, so the cameras must be held on the operators’ shoulders, and they’re exhausted by the time each pitch is wrapped). It’s the last time Ananda Lewis, David Hill and I will be together like this for a while, but that bittersweet reality is leavened by the presence of David Nevins, president of Imagine TV, an impressively smart exec who doesn’t disguise how tough it is to pitch to someone on his level.
Before the final three come in one by one, D. Hill jokes with D. Nevins about their favorite ways of subtly signaling that a pitch’s time is up. For Nevins, it’s about "shooting the cuffs" on his shirt and reaching out to shake the pitchee’s hand. Not that any of us is intending to cut short the final pitches of our last remaining contestants.
Unlike the elimination panels, where distance separates us from the contestants, we’re almost in each other’s laps for the pitches. It’s very intense, never more so than when Zo emotionally recalls his encounter with famed photographer Gordon Parks, who told Zo, "You are the future."
Impassioned to the end, Zo is a very impressive and undeniably talented guy, but his pitches (despite his commanding personal presence) lack oomph. He has clearly thought through Push Play, a comedic drama set in the world of local-access TV, but it’s a premise that clearly turns off Nevins and the rest of us as being dated in a world of pervasive YouTube-ism. Worse, Zo begins this presentation with a lengthy recitation of FCC/public access/First Amendment context. Zzzzzz. His pitch for Exposure, a reality show built around photography challenges, is much more commercial, but so familiar that we can’t possibly go with it. (In fact, there are several such shows already in the pipeline on various cable networks.)
Jessica’s and Gwen’s pitches give us more to work with, but in each case, the show the judges (led here by Nevins) decide to go with is, I believe, not the dream project the contestants came in with, but their backup.
Jessica comes from the world of reality TV, but her reality pitch was pretty thin, while her setup for Welcome to Haggerty’s (a sitcom set in a department store of misfits all vying for control) intrigues the panel.
Gwen comes from the world of news, but her newsroom pitch for Live at 10 hits a wall. Nevins rightly points out that shows (in particular dramas) about journalists almost never work, because journalists merely report stories, they aren’t the story. But Gwen smartly has a second scripted backup, rightly sensing that the room is more interested in greenlighting nonreality projects. And Playboy of Sin City, a Malcolm in the Middle-like story of a kid growing up amid outrageous characters in a Las Vegas penthouse, is something we’d very much like to see.
When the pitches are over, we break for a while (long enough to grab lunch back at my apartment) and return across town to the elimination soundstage for the last time. Hearts are a bit heavy, because at this stage letting anyone go is ridiculously hard, but it’s especially tough because we believe in the potential of all three. And when it’s decided not to keep Zo for the final round, we’re all compelled to break form and speak directly to him, to reinforce our own respect for his talents. I tell Zo that he’s unquestionably a star, and he made the competition better by being there. (Words I’m sure he takes no issue with.)
We give Jessica and Gwen their marching orders to execute a presentation based on their comedy pitches. They’re excited but nervous, and so are we. Nevins tells me, "I so badly want them to come through," and so obviously do we all. We’re taking a chance on them and their risky projects in service of the bigger picture: the dearth of comedy in TV and the need to find and nurture fresh new voices.
As we bid adieu, we’re already making plans for the actual finale that will be more than a month away. (In the interim, I will have screened all the available fall pilots in advance of the critics’ press tour, and taken a vacation to France, before heading back to L.A. for the press tour, which coincides with the taping of the finale in early July.)
Flash-forward to finale night. And I do mean night. We are in a new location for the final elimination and crowning: a lobby at the sprawling L.A. Center Studios, sleek and dark, with windows looking out on more darkness. (This is where The Nine was filmed last season, and where Women’s Murder Club and Numbers are shot, gauging from posters in the hallways.) It’s a very different look from past episodes, and the feeling in the room is filled with anticipation and also the sense that we’re doing this under a shroud: after hours and in deep secret. Cameras don’t start rolling until after 10 pm (following a nearby get-reacquainted dinner with David Hill), and it will take hours and hours before we get to the end.
I’m fascinated to learn that our final two were subjected to focus groups in advance of screening their work for us (and from the look of things, focus groups can be even more brutal than your average reality-show judge). The strategy pays off, especially for Gwen, who fine-tuned her problematic piece (with subpar acting nearly sinking her clever writing) overnight with the help of former contestant Adam, who provided the new narration. For Jessica, the focus group merely helped her select the correct version (she had made two), and she and former player Daniel did virtually no extra work on her project.
In the end the final decision hinges on vision over execution. We’re pleased with how much both finalists achieved, but there’s little doubt, especially to me, that Jessica’s is the more polished piece, and it’s certainly better cast, including an actress from an earlier round (who had been in the Brian Dunkleman sitcom project) whom Jessica had flown out from Los Angeles to play the Tourettes-stricken sales clerk, something I found amazingly resourceful. Plus she was able, through connections, to get sitcom icon Joyce DeWitt (of Three’s Company fame) to play another role, and that tickles me to no end, given my deep and abiding fondness for kitsch. Jessica also brings props to prop up her pitch: a gift bag for each of us with a fake Haggerty’s store logo. Cute. But the feeling is that while her production skills are obvious, the writing is a bit obvious and crude.
Gwen’s piece is obviously far rougher, but it’s seen as fresher in terms of originality and comic potential. Not to mention her earning our respect for taking on the challenge of working with both animals and children (and bad adult actors). We all admit we love Tom Jones the turtle — and until I watched the actual episode, I had no idea how hard it is to wrangle such an animal. Ultimately, when David Nevins says he sees "more spark" in Gwen and that she’s the one he’d be more likely to hire ("I like the way her mind works"), it’s hard not to listen and take notice.
The final decision isn’t altogether unanimous, and it certainly isn’t an easy one, but we’re all at peace as we declare Gwen the underdog, Gwen the youngest and greenest, Gwen the masterful pitch artist with endless reserves of self-confidence, as America’s Next Producer.
Hugs all around, including for Jessica, who has no reason to feel like a loser in this contest. As I head back to my hotel, bleary-eyed and still jet-lagged, at the ungodly hour of 3:30 in the morning (very surreal to drive in this notoriously congested city on streets with no traffic), something tells me that I’ll be hearing again from many of these contestants. I certainly hope so.
And finally, well-deserved congratulations to Gwen. Welcome to Hollywood!
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Sep 12, 2007 10:01 PM
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Here i was glued to TV guides first real "show", expecting the best.. it was great until this just happened? Gwen? are you kidding me??? talk about a fixed show, letting the underdog win... wow... absolute "malarky". Jessica or Zo deserves to win hands down. Gwen should of been kicked off the 2nd show.
TV Guide- you lost a veiwer... how fixed can you make a show? crap... FANS OF JESSICA UNITE! and zo 
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Sep 12, 2007 10:32 PM
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Gwen was my pick from the beginning (well, 2nd or 3rd episode anyway.)
I'm sure Zo is talented but, man, did he get under my skin! Pompous... arrogant... Did you see the look on his face when he was eliminated? I actually heard "Whach you talkin' bout Willis?!" in my head. You could have knocked him over with a feather.
I was really impressed with Gwen doing a little research and pitching two scripted shows. I loved seeing what a pitch session looks like. Mr. Nevins pulls no punches. (We could use a few more like him to weed out things like the Cavemen series!)
A minor complaint with the editors. I saw the Gwen win coming when they kept featuring the Jessica/Daniel party sequence, Daniel proclaiming her to the be the winner. I don't begrudge Jessica for being more prepared (really, an alternate version?! Color me impressed.) But the producers could have been a little less obvious. You could get away with that in the early years of reality competition TV but now we're on to the "let's make it look like this person but it's really the other person" thing.
BTW, I loved your reaction to Joyce De freakin' Witt. Your joy at all things TV is so obvious - and a pleasure to experience.
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Sep 12, 2007 11:55 PM
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Hi Matt, I really enjoyed reading your blogs. Thanks for giving us the insider perspective.
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Sep 13, 2007 1:20 AM
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I can honestly say, as a frequent television viewer, that I would not be interested in watching either one of those ridiculous, corn ball shows, what planet is Davis Nevins from? I think the lady in the focus group summed it all up - the only redeeming value (of both shows) is that they were both in English. However, I think the lesser of the two evils is Jessica's piece.
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Sep 13, 2007 1:31 AM
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I've given it some thought and I can see myself watching both of those shows, albeit with some serious refinements. Both presentations suffered from creating caricatures out of their characters. While you need the characters to be distinctive, too much makes it feel corny.
With Playboy in Sin City, I agree that the boy needs something to make him interesting... watchable. I'll be interested to see if either of these programs make it to production and how much they change along the way.
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Sep 14, 2007 10:38 PM
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I am absolutely shocked that Jessica did not win ANP! Even though David Nevins liked Gwen's 'comedic sense' this show was not out to find America's next comedic writer. Jessica stood out on every challenge, was always professional and most importantly creative. I have the utmost respect for all of the judges, but I wish that the decision for the winner was based on the entire season, instead of just one sitcom pitch. Also, the contestants on ANP and every other reality competition show never have more time or second chances. Gwen and Jessica should have been judged on the version they came to LA with. It is clear in the episode that Gwen only won because Evie told her how to "fix the problem" with Voice over and Adam "the comedy writer" re-wrote her dreadful script. I know the point to having the elimated producers come back was to help... but Gwen never proved she had what it takes, and this was her opportunity and she failed. I know that both producers will have a bright future, however I do feel that Jessica was robbed of the money and her rightful title.
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Sep 15, 2007 1:58 AM
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I am amazed at how much I enjoyed this show. Who woulda thunk that I'd turn in to see whatever was being shown above the scrolling TV Guide? But I did.
I agree that Zo is super-talented, but he'd be horrible to work with on a daily basis. Nothing more annoying than hearing a coworker constantly tell you how wonderful he is, especially when he completely turns out the suggestions of others. Good luck, Zo. When you win the lottery you can open your own production company.
I was often disappointed at the immature antics of the contestants, but of course that's what makes reality shows interesting.
I'm glad Gwen won. Can you imagine what she'll accomplish by the time she's 30?
I was impressed with the way the judges handled themselves throughout the competition -- professional without being unkind. You were always a gentleman, Matt, and it was fun to see you, instead of just "reading" you!
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Sep 15, 2007 7:13 PM
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You amaze me JennieO. You praise Gwen even though she told another contestant to "Shut the F&%k up," she fell asleep and didn't help Daniel with the "Shelby the Sea Turtle" pitch and contributed virtually nothing the entire season except go to the prop room. Yeah, those are the qualities of a good producer right? I don't recall hearing Zo ever tell another contestant how great he was, what show were you watching? And for your information Zo already has a production company. You can go to it's website at Zomotion.com. He's worked with some of the biggest names in the business. Do your homework next time.
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Sep 16, 2007 5:22 PM
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I'm now reacting to satori's earlier posting. You have had it in for Zo from the beginning. I'm glad the online pollsters don't share your view. Zo and his work has won virtually every poll. Perhaps the viewers are more open minded than you. By the way can you please let us know where we might see some of your TV work?
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Sep 16, 2007 5:28 PM
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Is that you, Zo? 
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Sep 16, 2007 6:00 PM
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Is that you Gwen?
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Sep 17, 2007 11:24 AM
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