SallyAnn Salsano has created some of the most iconic reality TV shows. Among her credits are Jersey Shore, Ex-Isle on WE tv, CMT's highest rated series ever Party Down South and the upcoming second season of CNBC's Blue Collar Millionaires.
I spoke to Salsano about how she continues to create, produce and cast reality programs that stand out in a saturated market.
Can you tell me the backstory of starting 495 Productions?
SS: It was a little bit of an accident. I was working as a producer on a particular show and the network came to me and said, “Hey, we want you to come take over this show.” But, I didn't have a company or anything.
So, I literally started it in my house. I had a fax machine, wireless and a printer and I was like, “I think I have a business.” I immediately went to find space and wound up renting from a guy who had a production company that was not at capacity.
I took a major gamble. It was a time in my life when I didn't have a ton of responsibility. I was 29 or 30 and single. I was kind of like, “Listen if this doesn't work I’m only hurting myself.”
Since I was a producer who worked their way up from the bottom I knew how to do every single job. I didn't have to hire people to do a lot of stuff; I just had to put in the time. So that's how I was able to get it off the ground. I didn’t have to go as much out of pocket, I just had to do a lot of the heavy lifting myself.
My real first project was, A Shot at Love. I always say that's a show that should come back. Back then it was just like salacious and crazy, but now it’s like how teenagers date. They date people; they don't date gender. They just don't care and I mean that in a very positive way.
How many people did you have working for you in the beginning?
SS: In the beginning it was nobody. It was show to show. If I had a show, I had people. If I didn't have a show, I didn't have anyone. We were acquired by FremantleMedia in 2014, but the same people who were around then are still here now, which is even crazier.
So it’s almost like a family business?
SS: Exactly. Listen I really enjoy being hands on and making the shows. That was a conscious decision from the get go. I was like, “I don't want to just run a business. I want to make TV.” I think sometimes you have to spend more time on one than the other, but it just takes good life balance to figure out how to do the creative side and the business side. Well, not how to do it, but how to allocate your time. For me, I think that's a day-to-day struggle.
When you were just starting, did you think reality TV was going to become as big as it is now?
SS: When I first started I was an intern at The Sally Jesse Raphael Show and an intern at the The Howard Stern Show. Then I got a job at The Sally Jesse Raphael Show. I just loved daytime talk. I remember even as a kid sitting there being like, “Oh my god. One day I hope I can be a producer.” For me, that would have been making it.
I wasn’t raised in the business and I didn't know anyone in the business. So I looked up to producers and I still look back and am like, “Wow, being a producer really is a great life.” But, I never thought I would wind up running a show, forget about having my own production company. I didn't know that people just like made up shows. With that being said, I don't know where I thought they came from.
Can you tell me about the process of creating a show?
SS: I mean, I wish there was a manual and a step-by-step way. I think it all happens in different ways.
For me with like Jersey Shore I got the phone call that said, “Hey, we want you to do a show on guidos because you’re a giant guido.” From there, we worked on developing that show.
I think its like art imitates life, but it depends on what you’re dealing with. There’s a show we were doing called Friend Zone that wound up going like 125 episodes on
I used that show to tell that dude, who I’m now married to, that I was into him. But it’s like sometimes you’re literally in this situation and you’re like, “I cant be the only person dealing with this.”
How do you make shows that stand out in such a saturated market?
SS: When I did A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, I did feel like we were addressing something that was happening in the country that no one would talk about. When I did Tool Academy, I was like, “Wow, we all dated tools.” We did that show, Disaster Date, for 130 episodes. It was a hidden camera show and it was so funny.
All of the shows that are the most successful come from actual life. Here’s the thing, sometimes people are like, “That's so intense,” but in real life when you’re living it feels that intense too.
One of the things that we really work on is the drama and comedy, and it sounds so stupid but the dramedy of it all. You could argue Jersey Shore was a dramedy. Every time something intense happened there was some kind of wisecrack or joke or something else happened that made it okay. But that being said, that's kind of life is. When you’re in the worst possible situation in life, you make a joke because we have to deal with it with humor.
I think it goes through phases. I think there was a phase of reality TV where it could just be anything and I think now it has to have characters that are great. That's something people forget. Everyone is so worried about the concept and to me its like, Let’s find a loose concept and lets find a great cast.”
How do you approach casting?
SS: We have to be able to spend a lot of time on casting. That's literally the most important thing.
I’m a firm believer of going to their natural habitat. When we did Jersey Shore, we went to the Jersey Shore. I tapped a couple of people on the shoulder and told them to come with me. This way I could see them out and see what they’re doing, instead of having them show up and tell me what they do.
As reality becomes less taboo, has casting become easier?
SS: Wanting to do it is almost as much as a problem. There’s a reason why certain cast members are more popular than others, it’s because they’re ok with being themselves. It’s super difficult to be yourself all the time and not think about the cameras. I find it amazing and I applaud people who do it.
The key to reality Tv is having a good cast and having trust. They have to trust that I’m going to tell an accurate story of what’s going on. I have to trust they’re exactly who they say they are and they’re not doing anything different for the cameras. Frankly, you can totally tell when they’re putting on. If I can see it, then anyone can see it.
Do you think being a well known reality star is as lucrative as being a well known actor?
SS: I think you have to be realistic. Sometimes with my talent it goes both ways. Sometimes they’re flying high and you’re like, “Dude, buckle up its not going to last forever.”
They don't want to hear that and they have parents or managers in their ears like, “Don't listen to her, go for the gusto.”
In the end, it's because they want to burn while its hot and for us its like, “No, let’s keep it going.”
For us the power of being on TV is more important than the power of making $10 more per episode. Longevity is key. Sure, you can sell whatever you want on the Internet or by being a spokesperson, but those opportunities are bigger when you’re actually on TV. I think sometimes that's gets lost in the shuffle, and sometimes people figure it out when its too late.
What's the future for reality TV?
SS: If you talk to people in industry they'll be like, “How do you feel about reality TV?” or “What’s your favorite reality TV show?” To me, if you ask a layman who watches TV and doesn't work in the industry to name their favorite TV shows, they might say
The average person isn’t like, “Well did you mean reality or scripted?” I think it's the industry that tries to divide us all, when in reality we’re all just making TV. So the future just depends on what TV people want to watch. It’s all about what kinds of shows people like, rather than what type of programming it is.
