Ananda Lewis' America's Next Producer Blog

When I pulled up to Center Studios the night of the finale, I had this overwhelming sense of well-being. I knew that no matter who won that night, we would have a talented, driven and awesome woman holding the title of America’s Next Producer. Even so, I felt nervous for Jessica and Gwen because tonight would change everything for one of them.

Watching a focus group tear your work up is grueling. I know this from my own experience and from watching it happen to so many friends. There is no way to describe the solidity of the knot that’s forming in your stomach as you sit there and listen to comment after comment from these total strangers. I remember thinking, "How can you judge what everyone will like based on the comments of a few?," "Who the hell are these people anyway?" and "Why should I give a damn what they think about me or my work?"

Well, fair or not, this is how the entertainment business operates. You are judged on the opinions of a few, Nielson does rate what’s on TV based on 45,000 or so households when there are roughly 300 million people in our country, and Britney did open for the VMA’s on the heels of her worst career year ever.

I’m glad that Jessica and Gwen got to see this process firsthand and make changes to their work before it got to us judges. I think we may have had a very different outcome if Gwen had not made the changes she did. My dad thought it wasn’t fair that she got to get help from Adam for her changes. I reminded him that the whole reason the other producers were there was to help them.

During deliberations, someone made the comment that maybe Jessica should have taken more advantage of the assistance she was provided and not just used her pre-prepared Option #2. We could debate all day about could’ve, would’ve, should’ve, but the bottom line remains that our panel (especially David Nevins, who was incredibly smart) was more inspired by Gwen’s final project, and as we all know, in this business you’re only as good as your most recent project. We have followed that motto throughout the show and have had to make some tough decisions based on it. Congratulations Gwen!! And Jessica, you did an incredible job throughout.

Now to be a bit self-critical: I said "you made our decision very difficult" waaaayyyy too much! It was like my line every show! And I didn’t like my hair on the shots at the focus group place. It hadn’t dried all the way and looked a little "wet-dog-ish" to me... totally my fault... yuk! Lastly, why the heck was I cheesing so hard at the end? You would’ve thought I won the $100,000! Hahhahaha! But I loved the straight hair at the end, as I don’t straighten my hair that often, so thanks Dee Dee!! That dress (even though you didn’t really see the whole thing much) was soooo beautiful and fit me perfectly (thanks to my incessant dieting), so thank you Juli and Jen J.

David Hill and Matt Roush have been such a pleasure to work with throughout this series as have everyone over at Magical Elves and TV Guide Network. Thank you all for giving me a very fun opportunity to learn more about myself and this field I’ve chosen. And thanks to all of you who watched for supporting smart and real television.

Peace!

Ananda

It’s hard for me to decide which was more painful: Watching Britney’s pathetic excuse for a performance on the VMA’s, or eliminating Zo from this competition. Ironically, they are similar in that they have both, in the past, proven themselves to be incredibly talented individuals in their respective fields. I think Britney needs honest friends, therapy (not rehab…NO NO NO!), and to be left alone by the media for a while. I know…it ain’t happening. Zo, on the other hand, just needed better ideas. Not that his were bad, just not up to par with those that Jessica and Gwen presented. The upside of living in a big world is that there is truly room for everyone and Zo can, and surely will, go out there and sell his show ideas and make them work. We all wish him well.

We’ve gone from 10 to 2. Now! May the best woman win!

And I truly have no clue which one of them may pull this off. I do know that one month and $6,000 isn’t a whole lot to work with.

Good luck chicas!!!

Being this close to the end must be incredibly nerve-racking for Gwen, Jessica and Zo because I’m not competing and I’m nervous as hell for them. Thankfully they all did really well on that sports challenge or we’d only be talking about two people right now.

Kellen Winslow was the perfect guest judge for this challenge and I got a special treat from him during the breaks: He taught me how to play Sudoku!!! I have always had a problem with numbers. My brain has always just shut down when it sees numbers and has to do anything with them. I have gotten better over the years, but the first time I saw someone playing Sudoku, I was immediately intimidated. But I love a challenge, so when Kellen asked me if I wanted to learn, I warned him that I may be a tough student but that I was willing and interested in learning it. I got it in 10 minutes and have been hooked ever since!!! Sudoku isn’t about numbers at all… it’s problem solving, really, but a great side effect has been that my brain is having less of a negative reaction to numbers now since I actually play the game a lot and have become pretty good at it (if I do say so myself). I guess you never know where a solution may come from and you just have to stay open.

Now back to the show.

I’m happy with our final three and feel like any of them taking home the title and all the cool prizes would be great in my book. They are all driven, smart, creative go-getters who will represent well. Yet they still have some hurdles to jump to get it and I’ll be presenting them with some surprises… we’ll see next week if they shake!

Daniel, Daniel, Daniel. What happened!? This was supposed to be his shining moment and boom! There goes the ball crashing to the floor. I could tell the minute I saw these last four producers walk into the Fox News room at 3am that this challenge was going to be hectic. Working under such tight time constraints is one thing, doing it on barely any sleep is quite another.
When I saw myself on the show standing there with Lisa Kridos to deliver this challenge, I went, “Dang, girl! You look like the tired train has run your behind over!” I was irritable and exhausted right along with them, but I didn’t have to then throw together a live news story in two hours. That’s why I call it producer boot camp.

Nevertheless, some basic things were absolutely overlooked by both teams, and neither story ended up being that great. But I do have to admit that the crying-in-the-workplace story was sooooo me when I was back at MTV, especially during my brief stint hosting a talk show. You cry more when you are miserable, and though I loved MTV, living in NYC took its toll on my spirit. I was actually miserable working the talk show, so I cried even more then.

Anyway, that's another book for another time.... Let's get back to a show I do love, ANP.

Lisa Kridos (the morning-news goddess) was right on point with her assessments of these pieces. Whether you're tired or not, it better not reflect in your work and it seemed like these four just weren’t thinking straight at all. Lots of necessary resources went unused and simple additions like B-roll from the stock Good Day L.A. could’ve made all the difference on both teams. The new, great American gathering spot that is Starbucks was relied on too heavily by both teams, as well. Have you noticed that everyone who works with Zo feels pushed around by him, or at least, irritated? I think he has a bigger personality than even he realizes. He should be grateful that this is not a popularity contest, because he made it to the final three! So Gwen, Jessica, Zo… see you next week.

Is it just me, or can you close your eyes and imagine these producers are 5,6 and 7 years old too? Danggit! At what point do we EVER get to leave our childhood issues in the past? And I’m not removing myself from that statement. There are plenty of things I could point to in my own behavior that are left over from what I did or didn’t get from my parents (especially my Dad) as a child. In intimate relationships, I am very needy and girlish…because I hate that in me, I check it whenever I recognize it by looking at the origins of it and reminding myself that I am now a grown woman and this man in front of me is NOT my Father and cannot be expected to fill in the blanks that he left. While I could go on and on about my baggage, the point here isn’t a free psychotherapy session for me, but only to highlight the antics that are taking place in the interactions of these producers. They take everything waaaayyy too personally when it is not about them at all! Their inability to hear each other’s ideas may be exactly what ended up killing them in this challenge to produce a dating game show. I heard some interesting concepts thrown out in the beginning…and they went nowhere. People allowed themselves to get shut down based on feelings instead of being objective and coming up with a show that didn’t suck…and it totally sucked. But they knew it! Through the whole process, they all knew it! And no one did a thing to stop the train wreck. They all should’ve gone home over this one…but, alas, that was not an option. HA! Imagine if a guy came up and started sniffing on you! Oh, wait…that’s actually happened to me…oops.
It was almost painful to watch the producers watching their own work. In the studio, they were actually sweating! I could see on their faces when they walked out that they didn’t even want to show us this piece at all. But I suppose Zo chose wisely if his goal was to eliminate his nemesis, Evie. Mission accomplished. Did I almost jump out of my chair and throw my hand over both their mouths? Hell yes! And a whole argument ensued between Zo and I (which you didn’t get to see) because Zo pulled the race card and I had to call him on it. Whew! Today was a RIDE! An awful, badly produced ride. Let’s hope next week is better…please?
I would like to say the Lauren Michelle Hill is as beautiful in person as she is on camera...and there aren’t many people on tv I can say that about. She was totally natural and you could tell she wakes up just like that…minus the blush  She was a real sweetheart to work with too. And JD Roth was awsome. Sooo many great ideas and I found myself inspired by the level of success he has achieved with dating shows. Who’d have thunk it??
On another note…didn’t you LOVE my hair?  hahaha.

Who knew a 30 second PSA could be so involved??? Whew! This challenge was right on time with the global issues awareness aspect and overall I thought they all did very well. As the field of competitors narrows, everyone seems to be sharpening every skill they have…including the ‘get along skill’. And when I saw Evie hug Schliz when he got eliminated, I knew there was a chance for peace in the middle east.
I had reservations about letting Schliz go. I think he’s very talented, I like his personality, and we’re judging producers not cameramen. But the points the judging panel made were valid and his shots were overexposed. It’s also a reminder that today’s producers need to be multi-taskers of a new breed. Those that can shoot, do audio, do voice-overs, get on camera if need be, edit, direct, heck DO IT ALL!! And that’s what we’re looking for .
So, needless to say, I REALLY love this show America’s Next Producer! I’ve been inspired so much by doing it AND watching it and hopefully, you guys watching are also getting some insight into what producers do and an idea of how to bring your own ideas to life. Uh-oh!

What is it about children’s television shows that make everyone who watches them immediately revert to 6 year old? Hahahaha.. It was so cute to see all of the producers’ faces light up when they saw the set and realized what the challenge was. “Hip Hop Harry” is one of the best kid shows out there, but dare I say that Shelby the Sea Turtle could give him a run for his money…ok, maybe not, but I would buy it for my kids right now…that is, if I had kids…but that’s soooo 2 episodes ago.

2 things: I wanna pinch Claude Brooks’ cheeks and Gelila Asres is one of the most beautiful and savvy women on the PLANET!! Ya’ll better WORK!!!
I am really happy with how well this challenge went. Everyone stepped up and acted like they know what they’re doing!
Jessica has GREAT ideas…she’s the concept woman. Zo’s really strong musical talent showed up. Evie is really, really good at brainstorming and progressing a thought into something new...that is definitely a talent.
Daniel held it down as team leader and, though he felt like he got left hanging by some of the other producers, pulled off a fantastic project. Gwen…you know you should’ve done the pitch, girl…seems like people just need to speak up more. I believed her when she said she didn’t hear Daniel ask her for help…she was asleep! Hahahaha…but he should have woke her up and said “Gwen, you’re doing the pitch, bring your ass on!” Everyone knows that is one of Gwen’s strengths.
Adam was doing fine up until the end…and then it all fell apart. Oh if he could have just picked ONE PERSON! He may still be on the show now. There is something to be said about people who are detached from that likeability threat I spoke of in a previous blog…they can make decisions based simply on the situation at hand. When your desire to “be nice” outweighs your personal survival mechanism that, too, becomes a fault. So it is truly, as with most things, all about balance. You shouldn’t be a scrooge, and yet you should also not be so unwilling to throw someone off the boat that you get tossed yourself. No one would’ve been mad at Adam had he just threw out a name for the sake of looking like he can make tough decisions. The bottom line is that those tough decisions that take a thick skin and a temporary numbing of your feelings are sometimes the best ones for a producer, if not for your life, because you let your instincts take over and lead the way instead of a sometimes misplaced desire not to hurt anyone’s feelings. Someone’s feelings will always be hurt and life still marches on.
…and then there were 6.

It's odd how I am growing to like elimination. In our society, most of us are raised to believe that we are supposed to be nice to everyone, be liked by everyone, not to judge — someone may not like us if we have an opinion that disagrees with their own. Remember being on the playground and the threat of someone "not being your friend" having such weight? It feels like kind of the same thing as an adult, that pressure not to express one's dislike of a thing... or a person. To that end, sitting in judgment of the work of these producers every week has been liberating for me — on the other hand, I'm still feeling a bit of guilt for dashing the dreams of another human being simply based on the taste of a few.

Tonight's elimination brought me more guilt than pleasure. This challenge was the most intricate yet, involving a full crew, actors, sets, and still very little post-production time to put it all together. Scripted comedy, as has been said many times, is possibly the hardest kind of a show to do, mainly, in my opinion, because funny is so subjective. What you didn't get to see on tonight's show was how much deliberation actually went into our decision tonight... and how difficult it was to pick Sharon as the person going home. She has brought so much genuine drama and spark to the show from Day 1 and I know will stand out as one of the more memorable producers to walk through the door.

After watching these two teams pull off their shows, you may have a better understanding of why producers, directors and so many other people behind the scenes in television seem, and are, so crazy. The pressure is unreal, and this is especially true when the ideas you are fighting for are your own. I like that our decision tonight showed the importance of leadership in this field and hopefully gave the remaining producers an idea of the total picture we look at in making our choices. Maybe next week's will be more of a relief for me.

I knew I loved this show! For anyone who has ever wondered how TV gets made and what goes on behind the scenes, let me tell you: This stuff is the real deal! I can’t count how many arguments I have witnessed behind the scenes, when the cameras are off, when there’s no studio audience around. Heck I’ve been involved in many of them… started some of them.

The fact is that television is just like any other industry that puts different personalities together who then have to reach a goal. You probably have a lot of disagreements and fights at your job, too, but the difference is you have a boss and these nine producers are the bosses! So tonight, they had to create a reality series around a celebrity. It happens every day but, as you can see for yourself, is not as easy as it looks. Can you imagine how many ideas are thrown around in this town daily that never see the light of day?

Oh! The egos!! To be honest, I had no idea while we shot these shows that so much went down behind the scenes. I wasn’t allowed to interact with the contestants at all off camera, which kept it fair and allowed me to judge them on what they put on the screen in each challenge. So I watched this show with my jaw on the ground darn near the entire time! Whhhoooooohhooo! That Sharon is a fireball! But I’m telling you, I would watch that show about the biological clock ticking… that was genius and I loved how willing she was to put her own business out there like that when their celebrity canceled. I’m also afraid that someone is gonna choke Zo before the season ends… and it may just be Evie. I honestly like strong personalities and can’t stand pushovers… so I may feel a bit differently about how that drama is going down. Usually when you stand up to bullies right away, they stand down. I felt bad for Lindsay going home because she seems to be a very talented producer, but she was the team leader and didn’t deliver. Like it or not, every week we have to get rid of someone... and, from having lived it, I can tell you that it got harder and harder the closer we got to the end. Our producers are witty and creative, and they’re putting everything they’ve got into this. I’m proud of the people moving on to Episode 3.

PS: Chris Moore is a hottie!!

Ananda

Whew! First elimination down! Sending someone home is, honestly, the worst part for me. I will say that I am so relieved to have such a talented and creative group of contestants on this show! You know, you never can tell what you might get when it comes to reality TV, and you know what I'm talking about. But we have 10 (well, now nine) smart, creative, fun people! Yay!!

And still, as I’m sure you noticed, the drama has already begun. David H., Matt [Roush], David F. and I were downstairs deliberating and all of the sudden we heard "BOOM! CRASH!" upstairs, like there was a real fight going on. Then we find out: there was! Well, a verbal one, anyway, but it felt like it could've come to blows for a minute there.

In case you didn’t see it, Gwen said to Sharon, "Shut the f--k up," which set Sharon off! Some people may not have gotten upset at this, but everyone is not the same. What's always been crazy to me is that we’re a nation made up of all these wonderfully different people, but we constantly want to pretend that we're all the same. Maybe in some human ways we are, but culturally, there are some definite differences and one of them reared its head today: You talk to everyone any ol' kind of way and, like Sharon said, it could get you beat down in certain places and around certain people.

This is not a fact many in the mainstream like or want to accept, so I challenge them to walk into any brown area of the USA and start talking mess in someone's face to get an intimate understanding of just what the reality looks like. We could debate about the reasons certain groups are like this all day, but for what? People are who they are for whatever the reason. Period.

I am interested to see how this plays out between Sharon and Gwen. I'm also curious to see who the next producers to butt heads will be. Lots of type-A people on one set!

Overall, I think that we have some wonderfully big personalities, that everyone is stressed out (which is a good thing), and that these contestants better get used to the grind, lack of sleep, working with people they don’t like, and pulling brilliance out of thin air in minutes or they will be on their way home like Bradley.

This is really going to be a great ride. See you next week!

Ananda

TV Guide Network's America's Next Producer airs Wednesdays.