For Rachel
His name is Michael. He won an Emmy for Oprah. He made the documentary about The Simpsons that everyone talked about. Amazon, Google and Vogue hire him. Here is why we're so excited to put you two together.
What this meeting is
Most TV opportunities are a slot in a show that already exists. Michael works the other way. He starts with a person and their world: your family, your NFL life, your personality, the people around you. Then he designs the show to fit. You know your world. He knows how to turn a world into television.
Who he is
Michael executive produced a female-centric series for Oprah's network. Its episode "Motherhood" won the 2020 Emmy.
He directed The Problem With Apu, a film that took on the biggest animated show in TV history. Whoopi Goldberg and Kal Penn appear in it. It became national news, The Simpsons had to respond on air, and the actor who voiced the character for 30 years stepped away from the role. One film, made by Michael, changed The Simpsons.
The show was Paid Off, on truTV. He has taken an idea all the way from a conversation like the one you're about to have to a full season on air.
Brands
Major brands hire Michael directly to make their content. A relationship with him is also a door to the companies he works with, for campaigns, collaborations and series built around you.
A show that walks in with a brand already attached gets taken far more seriously. Very few producers live in both worlds. Michael does, which is why we think he's one of the smartest people in the business about where TV is going.
That company is Condé Nast. Half the episodes are a comedy in the style of The Office, set inside Allure magazine. The other half are beauty tutorials with the same cast. It comes out around the holidays with Amazon's Best of Beauty. Allure's creative director told him it's about to become the bar for what everyone there wants to make.
He piloted a series for Google this year, with a second in discussion. His team made a campaign for Dove and a series with Tinx for Vogue. He personally directed for Intel.
Networks
Two things on Netflix's list right now: shows about a real world held together by something true, like a family or a team, and people audiences already love whose real life they haven't fully seen yet. That sounds a lot like you. He has the same kind of read on Hulu, HBO and Tubi.
We've known Michael for years, and he's building shows with several of our clients right now. When his next project comes up, or the next network tells him what they need, we want your name to be the first one in his head.
So we're putting you two together to build something with you. You don't need to prepare a pitch. Tell him about your life, what you'd love to make, and what's off limits. He'll take it from there.
Team Arsenic