SallyAnn Salsano is one of the more prolific and influential people in reality television, having produced some of the most well known and most watched reality programming in recent history, including Jersey Shore, The Bachelor/Bachelorette, Nashville Star, Design Star, Dance Your Ass Off, A Shot at Love, and Tool Academy. She is President of 495 Productions, which currently has hits Party Down South (CMT), The Real (syndication), Snooki & JWoww (MTV), Friendzone (MTV), and Tattoo Nightmares (Spike) on the air. Her newest show, Big Women, Big Love, premieres tonight at XX pm on Lifetime.
Al Norton: How did Big Women, Big Love come to be?
SallyAnn Salsano: I think it came to be because I have been, for the majority of my life, a fat girl trying to date. It seems so taboo to a lot of people but it's just what is happening in America; people are dating and not everyone is super psyched to show off their goods to go meet somebody. Trying to date is super stressful and there's additional layers when you're heavier and trying to do it.
Al Norton: Why does it seem so much of reality TV feature very fit, hot, attractive people surrounded by other people who are just like them but in real life it's not like that, in real life in any group of friends you've got a couple of more attractive folks and then some big people, at least by TV standards, and then some even bigger people?
SallyAnn Salsano: Because people try to pretend like those other people don't exist, and also because the thinking is that if you're sitting down to relax, it's easier to relax and disconnect from life if you're looking at beautiful people. I think that's changing, though, that more and more in reality TV, it has to be relatable or the audience is straight up not interested.
Al Norton: Using Big Women, Big Love as an example, walk me through the casting of a new reality show.
SallyAnn Salsano: Back in the day casting would be super broad and super out there where as today you put in the ad exactly what you're looking for. There are so many reality shows and all of these girls on Big Women Big Love knew if they ever tried out for The Bachelor they wouldn't be picked or if they were it would be so they could be the butt of the joke, they knew that if they went out for Survivor they wouldn't get picked because of their weight, so we had a very strong response because there was a lot of curiosity about a show's ad that said, "are you a plus sized girl looking for love?" There was clearly a reaction of, "I'm a reality TV fan and finally there's something for me."
Al Norton: How many women did you go through to get to the group we see on the show?
SallyAnn Salsano: Over 1000, for sure over 1000.
Al Norton: When you've got a new project, how much time do you spend trying to figure out the right network for it?
SallyAnn Salsano: Every once in a while you do a project that just works for one network but that's not really a smart plan because you don't know if that one network is going to buy it. What you do is come up with a concept and figure out how you would develop it based on where it landed. I think you tweak your shows to fit the audience you, and the network, is trying to reach.
Al Norton: I know you want all your show to be hits but is it still a surprise when a show takes off, like say Party Down South?
SallyAnn Salsano: Yes it is, and you always get excited. Of course you want everything to be a hit but sometimes you know you're just rolling the dice. Sometimes it's not the ones you think, like you're thinking "this is going to be the one" and it's not. I mean, if we all knew, we'd only make hits. It doesn't matter if a show is good or not good, it just matters what the audience wants to see. Some of the best looking shows have failed and some of the worst looking shows have become huge successes. How a show is presented in the media and the timing of everything has a lot to do with making a hit.
Al Norton: Congratulations on The Real, both for being a hit right out of the box and for breaking new ground as it's your first talk show.
SallyAnn Salsano: Thank you. It is our first talk show; I started back in the talkshow world a million years ago (one of Salsano's first jobs was on The Sally Jessy Raphael Show) and I always vowed to go back. It's such a huge undertaking that I wanted to make sure I went back on a show I was confident could actually work. I think a lot of people take a new job or a new project so they can pay their bills but for me with this, I wanted to make sure it was a show we could make some noise with, to make a splash and create something different.
Al Norton: Now that you've gotten into that world, have you thought at all about doing scripted TV projects?
SallyAnn Salsano: I think there's time for all of it. The good news is we keep trying new things and they're working, so people are more apt to give us a shot. I never say never to anything.
Al Norton: I love that on 495 Productions' website it says you do not take unsolicited TV pitches, not that people don't do it anyway; how do you find new shows? Are there people who work for you who come up with ideas or do they go out trying to find the next big thing?
SallyAnn Salsano: All of it. I have people who work for me who are super smart who are always coming up with new stuff. Producers work for me and say, "hey, let's try this" and then they're more invested because they get a piece of it. And then it's us just watching TV and coming up with new formats. It's a combination and a show can come from anywhere.
Al Norton: Having achieved a pretty incredible amount of success in your career so far, do you feel any pressure or responsibility to be a role model for women or really anyone who's trying to make it in your business?
SallyAnn Salsano: I don't know if I feel any responsibility. I feel that that the key to my success was that I wanted it more than the average person. I came into this with nothing to lose; I had $7000 to my name and was like, "come on, snake eyes!" I'd worked for a bunch of people I loved and a few people I didn't love so much and I wanted to start a place where everyone goes to work, feels good, and feels like they are a real part of it. As far as being a role model I'd say not but I'd also say there are so many people out there trying to break in and be where I am today but not where I was twenty years ago when I started and that's what people have to remember, that you have to put the time in and you have to want it more than everyone else does.
Al Norton: Is there a pitch that you passed on where, looking back, you wonder what you were thinking in saying no?
SallyAnn Salsano: No, not really. I think the thing I almost didn't do was Jersey Shore and that would have been the mistake of a lifetime, but I haven't really passed on anything that I regretted passing on. Sometimes you do things that you regret, but that's a different feeling, like "why didn't I say no to that?!?!" (laughing).
Al Norton: Ok, so you almost passed on Jersey Shore; what was it that made you almost pass and what was it that made you go ahead with it?
SallyAnn Salsano: Originally when it came to me I was working with a woman who wanted to do something about guidos and at that point it was a competition elimination show. I didn't want that but she said, "come up with anything guido and we'll do it" and once I get that kind of range, I like it. It was the same thing with The Real; I wanted to know I could pick the people myself and make sure we could do something different before I committed and once I got that, I was in.
Al Norton: What do you watch?
SallyAnn Salsano: I watch everything! Last night I watched the new episode of Kourtney & Khloe Take the Hamptons. I watch the Housewives shows. I watch Wahlburgers. I watch enough HGTV to burn the house down. You'd think I got paid by them by the hour. I think yesterday I watched an entire Love It or List It marathon. Today is a Property Brothers marathon. I know everything about HGTV (laughing).
Al Norton: You didn't mention anything scripted; do you not watch scripted series?
SallyAnn Salsano: No, I kind of don't. There are so many reality producers who say they can't watch other shows because it makes them think about work too much or that they don't like reality TV and they only watch to see what's going on; I call BS on them. I watch reality TV because I love it. I watch all the Love and Hip Hops, I watch Mob Wives. Oh my god, I watch Teen Mom! You name it, I watch it.
Al Norton: Are there some that you watch that you know aren't very good but you like them anyway or do you truly love them all?
SallyAnn Salsano: Some I just watch to see what's going on and I don't stay for the one's I don't love. I'm not one of those people who says, "if it's reality TV, it's good." I will tell you I get caught up and all obsessed with some shows and it's not healthy (laughing).
Al Norton: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
SallyAnn Salsano: I hope doing the same thing I am now. Whenever anyone asks me if I consider myself successful in this business I say no, you're a success when you retire of your own accord, not when the town retires you.
Al Norton: If you got a phone call and someone said, "I'm starting a reality network and I want to put you in charge of it"…
SallyAnn Salsano: I would say, "every network's a reality network" (laughing).
Al Norton: Could you ever see yourself on that side of the business?
SallyAnn Salsano: I never say never. I think I want to do everything before I'm done. As I get older and as my relationships get stronger at the top, I spend more and more time trying to understand what the networks are up against so I can be a better partner.
Al Norton: For someone who wouldn't think of themselves as the target audience for Big Women, Big Love, why should they tune in?
SallyAnn Salsano: The women are outrageous and compelling and if you're not that person, you know someone like that, and every single person has looked for love in their life, so there's really no one who can't relate. If you watch the show and say, "I don't get it, I can't relate", you really need to get out more.
Don't miss the series premiere of Big Women, Big Love tonight at 10pm on Lifetime
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