America's Next Producer

“Most people don't know what a producer does,” one contestant says at the start of America's Next Producer, the latest reality competition series from the producers behind Project Runway and Top Chef. By the end of the first episode, I'm still not certain what a producer does, but I'll certainly tune back in to try to find out.

This was supposed to be the summer of On the Lot. FOX's search for the next great director had Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett, two powerhouses in film and television, yet their combined greatness is nowhere to be seen on the show. It's a clunky, poorly hosted, poorly judged, poorly designed show.

By comparison, American's Next Producer, airing Wednesdays at 8pm on the TV Guide Channel, is the real deal. The judges are smart and experienced, unlike the stammering Carrie Fisher. Host Ananda Lewis is calm, collected and a refreshing jolt of energy. And while Spielberg may be good in film, when it comes to reality TV competitions, there's no one better right now than Dan Cutforth and Casey Kriely, the producers who've made Project Runway and Top Chef the most entertaining in their genre.

America's Next Producer looks to follow suit. The show doesn't waste time, and after some quick introductions, it's off to the first task. On the Lot just shows us the finished product, but America's Next Producer provides s glimpse of how TV works and how shows and segments get made, from an idea to filming to editing. Even if the true role of the producer is still a bit vague, the show succeeds in giving the viewer lots of personality, lots of conflict and plenty of more than qualified contestants.

We've seen reality shows about all other aspects of TV: On the Lot for directors, Project Greenlight for writer/directors, Situation: Comedy for writers (or am I the only one who remembers that Sean Hayes-produced bomb), and I Wanna Be a Soap Star for actors. America's Next Producer, by all accounts, seems to take all of those, puree them in a blender, then add a dash of The Apprentice.

None of this is to say the show is bad - it's not - it just remains a bit unclear what the goal is. The contestants first task is to film a one minute comedy piece for Last Call with Carson Daly. Suddenly, the producers are writing, directing, acting, editing, sound mixing and everything else involved in putting it together. The problem is obvious, and one that the most vocal candidate, Sharon, illustrates – don't producers have people to do these things for them? Sharon boasts that she's done 500 man-on-the-street interviews, but has trouble setting up the camera. Why? Because she has people who do the shooting.

If the show's purpose is to inform us what a producer does, it doesn't quite succeed, because now I'm questioning why directors or editors are needed, if producers could just do their job. Hopefully, future tasks will clarify what producers do, besides take the credit.

If the goal is entertain, mission accomplished. The first episode flies by, thanks in large part to the familiarity with the show's structure. Instead, we can focus on the contestants, and this show has some entertaining ones. Sharon, as I previously mentioned, is my favorite, sassing it up and getting all angry that she's asked to do stuff. That's what I thought a producer did – sit in a chair and bark out orders. Zo and Schliz are, hands down, the most oddly-named reality show contestants I've seen. Schliz, in particular, informs us that he's worked with the guys from Jackass, and before the episode is over, that training is readily apparent.

On the judges panel are respected TV Guide critic Matt Roush, looking and sounding a lot like Tim Gunn's kid brother, and hardheaded producer David Hill, who gets to play the bad cop to Roush's unceasing pleasantness.

Undoubtedly, it's a lot better than shows like On the Lot, and hopefully people will seek this show out, because quality summer programming is hard to find. The show is frequently as entertaining as Project Runway or Top Chef, the producers' other efforts. Hey, maybe the producer is important after all.


-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy TV Guide Channel)