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June 18, 2008
 
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Profile: Danielle Gelber
HRTS Member - Senior Vice President of Original Programming, Showtime


A member profile by Chris Davison, davison@intellcap.com
Danielle Gelber is Senior Vice President of Original Programming at Showtime. Danielle began her career as a temp and has since worked as an executive at production companies and at networks, including both broadcast and cable. I recently had a chance to speak with Danielle to discuss Aaron Spelling, vampires and weed.

Q: Can you tell us about your background? what made you want to work in entertainment?
-when I got into the business I didn't have any connections so I went directly to temp agencies, and they sort of saw this woman with a Masters degree at 23 years old and didn’t know what to make of my looking for a temp job.  I told them “it's a company town – I figure, join the company”.  I didn’t have any connections in the business but they asked me if I’d ever heard of Aaron Spelling.  Even I, who barely watched TV at the time, had heard of Aaron Spelling! He was looking for an assistant and Aaron turned out to be the most wonderful mentor for my career.  When I came to Aaron’s company he had seven series on the air, and he was just ending his exclusivity with ABC.  He taught me development from the ground up, and during my tenure there I developed 90210 with him for the then-fledgling FOX network. FOX offered me a chance to come over and be a development executive, which began my network career and I’ve remained a buyer ever since. When I was working for Aaron, whenever I’d get a job offer he’d say, “that one’s not good enough” and give me a new title and more money to stay.  But when the chance to become the Director of Drama Development for FOX came along he said, “now THAT’S a job you should take!”  It was great to leave with his blessing.

Q: What makes “Weeds” such an enduring hit?
-every year Jenji and her writing team and our actors have assiduously reinvented the tonality of the show. By that I mean that these characters’ lives have permutated over time, just like real people.  Every year there's been some form of sea change for the characters, which makes it eminently relatable to viewers.  Also, I think the show endures because it’s highly relatable despite the fact that these people are in seemingly extraordinary circumstances.  You don't have to be a mother, or a drug dealer or a widow, to understand what it must be like to be in a position where you are up against it. Whatever your personal circumstances might be, it’s relatable to watch someone trying to do right by their family.  In true life, half the world is laughing and half the world is crying and that is what is going on in this show every episode. It's not only comedic and hilarious, it's not solely tragic and dramatic, it’s very lifelike in that it's consistently both and they're very intermingled. 

Q: How is the Showtime brand different from the HBO brand, is there a distinct difference?
-I think that there is and there isn’t. Certainly, because we are the two main premium outfits in the country, we both have the most creative latitude and ability to show the most honest portrayals of dramas or comedies on television.  There are certain things that naturalistically could work on either network – many of our shows could live on HBO, and some of theirs could have a life on our air.  But what we've tried to do is create a continuity within our slate of shows that feature very flawed characters at their core.  We love having everyone from Henry VIII, one of the most incredibly mixed up kings in history, to a soccer mom in the suburbs selling pot, to a lovable serial killer.  Where else are you going to find this collection of characters?  We've got that going for us as a brand.  We also search for really high-impact concepts, because the marketing dollars only go so far.  In order to rivet people's attention we need series that have very arresting concepts.  That’s what can sell an audience on something, but then of course you’ve got to back it up with good writing, quality execution and great chemistry in the acting. We have all of these flawed characters and they're all prey to their own personalities in some way. 

Q: When developing new shows at what point do you realize that you may have a hit?
-there are a few junctures.  The first time you feel that way is when you’ve had enough enthusiasm at the pitch stage to buy the project and put it into development.  We don’t say to ourselves at that point “we have a hit on our hands” but we hopefully have a belief that if the script comes in as well as we think it can, and the pilot equals that expectation, that we would be prepared to program it.  That’s a victory right off the bat.  The next line of demarcation is when we actually get the script, we essentially know right then and there if it's got a future as a pilot.   If we get past that stage and we’re making a pilot then there’s a whole alchemy that we’re looking for with the right casting and the right director hitting the right script.  And then… we get a cut of the show! Watching dailies is one thing, but you don’t really get a full sense of continuity until you see a cut.  At that point, you have to go on the courage of your convictions and put it on the air. Television is a living experiment -- things rarely hit with audiences right off the bat.  You invariably learn what is working in a given episode and try to hit on those cylinders the next week.  Showtime is different from the broadcast networks because in our universe a hit is not defined the same way.  We don't measure our success on ratings.  We value our subscribers, press attention, and critical support. 

Q: Any thoughts on the new pay cable channel?
-it’s in such a  nascent stage right now, I think it is going to take quite some time for it to coalesce to a point where we can understand what its potential might be.  But the product from our current output deals will still be seen on our air for quite some time.  It’ll be a few years in fact before they change shows on our air.  And once they get off the ground, they’ll face the same challenge we all do:  to go out there and stake a claim in original programming.  They have got to find a signature show that brands their identity.  At this point, theirs is a long-range prospect. What it has done for us, I believe, is opened us up to the opportunity to acquire features from many outlets instead of just the ones we've had specific deals with in the past. I think that has broadened our options, which is always a good thing in television.

Q: Any thoughts on the HRTS?
-I have been a member since the beginning -- the beginning of my career that is, not since the beginning of the HRTS! I’m not a vampire! When I worked for Aaron, he would take a table and I always counted myself among the lucky ones to be there with him. At that time I was just enthralled to get to go.  Many of those speakers really stand out for me, like when Ted Turner came, which was just fantastic.  What a maverick.  And then I got to FOX when it was still considered a little weblet  -- not yet taken seriously, and we had a table way in the back.  Even when I first came to Showtime we were essentially in the bleachers.  And then at this past luncheon where Bob Greenblatt was on the panel, we were so close to the stage that we were eye level with his shoes!  I think the HRTS has done a great job of being consistently creative.  It's a challenge to come up with that next great idea for a luncheon every month.  They've taken on great issues over the years – not just the glamorous programming ones, but also many valid ancillary issues like ageism and health care.  I love their Kids Day.  I’m a huge fan.  It’s a great forum for seeing people, and it's both convivial and business, it's really effective.  To be able to network in the network business is really great.  I should join the board!

 
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