Boob Tube Podcast

This week I am joined by Tracy Tutor - author, real estate agent, and star of Bravo TV's Million Dollar Listing: Los Angeles.  We had an opportunity to look at Tracy's career trajectory; how she's worked her way up through the ranks to find herself on a hit television series as well as what motivated her to write her first book, Fear is Just a Four Letter Word.  As the only female realtor on Million Dollar Listing: Los Angeles, Tracy brings a wonderful perspective to the conversation of being a woman in Hollywood.  Enjoy our interview and be sure to catch Tracy on Million Dollar Listing: Los Angeles Tuesday evenings on Bravo. Tracy's book Fear is Just a Four Letter Word is currently available for preorder on Amazon and will be officially released on July 14.

This week Tamar is back with a new episode and could not be more excited to have Tanya Saracho join her! Tanya is brilliant and funny and shares incredible insight into her journey from playwright to TV writer.  Tanya is the creator of Vida, a show that follows the lives of sisters Emma and Lyn as they navigate life in East LA after their mother's death. The show beautifully weaves together themes of gentrification, cultural identity, sexual identity, and family relationships. The third and final season premieres this Sunday, April 26th on STARZ.  In this episode Tamar and Tanya have a chance to chats about the creation of the world of Vida as well as the lack of Latinx representation on TV and Tanya's experience bringing her voice to writers rooms.    Enjoy!!!

Hello from social isolation!! I hope you are all hanging in and making it through this incredibly challenging and surreal time. To keep you company during these weird days, I've decided to put out short bonus episodes each week recommending a female-created show for your viewing pleasure. It will give me a chance to highlight some of the amazing women telling incredible stories while we're all on a bit of a hiatus from our regularly scheduled programming.  First up - Jenn Kaytin Robinson's Sweet/Vicious. This show was screaming #MeToo before anyone else joined in. It is powerful and special and was canceled far too soon. I still hope every day that someone decides to give it another chance.  Thanks so much for listening to Boob Tube! Come find me on twitter and instagram, and if you happen to find yourself with a few moments to spare, head over to apple podcasts and leave a review of the show. Til next time. xox

Hi all! Excited to be back with my our episode of 2020! This week Boob Tube welcomes Ashley Bissette Sumerel, founder and editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV. At Tell-Tale, Ashley and her staff watch and review dozens of television episodes weekly. We had an opportunity to discuss the ways that our ever-evolving world impacts the way experience television. How does something like #MeToo affect our perception of the stories being told? How do we reconcile loving television shows that were once our biggest sources of comfort but are now, through a more current lens, clearly problematic?  Ashley and Tamar explore some of these questions and more on this week's episode. We'd love to hear your thoughts as well! Hop on over to twitter and join the discussion. 

With two days left in 2019, Tamar reflects back on the past year. There is so much to be grateful for, including the launch of this podcast and the incredible 9 women who graced us with their voices in this inaugural year.  Tamar also takes a moment to highlight some women outside of the TV industry who have had a major impact on her this year.  Thank you all for being a part of this journey. I cannot wait to share more voices and more stories with you in 2020!! Happy New Year!

This week Tamar is joined by Emily Gipson, co-founder of the incredible ATX Television Festival that takes place in Austin each June. Founded in 2012, ATX Festival is a gathering of television fans and industry personnel who come together to celebrate the best of television - past, present, and future. For four days participants attend panels and screenings with television's biggest names, diving into discussions ranging from romance on television to representation and everything in between.  Tamar gets some behind-the-scenes insight from Emily about how the festival came to be, what goes into making it a reality each year, and what some of her big dreams are for the future of the fest.  Take a listen and then be sure to check out ATX Festival and sign up for their newsletter to get all the info on Season 9 guests and panels coming in June 2020.   

This week I am thrilled to welcome Rachel Bloom to Boob Tube. Rachel is the mastermind behind the CW fan favorite, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.  CEG deftly and thoughtfully dealt with a myriad of issues that women face, many of which we don't often see on television. I had a chance to explore some of that with Rachel as well as the trajectory of her career from sketch comedian to youtube star to creator and executive producer of her own show.  If you haven't yet watched Crazy Ex-Girlfriend you can stream all four seasons on Netflix.  *Apologies in advance for the phone notifications and ringing that are momentarily audible in this week's episode.*

This week Tamar is joined by Lesley Wake Webster, creator and executive producer of NBC's Perfect Harmony.  We have the opportunity to explore Lesley's experiences as a female writer in comedy writers' rooms and how things have changed over the course of her career. We talk equal pay, balancing children while working in Hollywood, ways women can pay it forward and more.  Be sure to catch Perfect Harmony on Thursdays at 8:30/7:30c on NBC.   During the course of this interview, we make reference to the "Friends lawsuit." For more about that: click here.  

In this episode Tamar chats with Sera Gamble about her experiences as a writer and showrunner on Supernatural, The Magicians, YOU, and more. Hear Sera's incredible insights and remarkably refreshing philosophies on being a woman in Hollywood. Be sure to find Tamar on social media (twitter, instagram, or email boobtubepod@gmail.com) and share your thoughts about the show! And don't forget to leave a review on iTunes to help other people find the podcast! 

This week Tamar crosses off a name from the top of her wishlist as Julie Plec stops by Boob Tube to chat about her tremendous career as a writer and producer. Julie has over two decades of experience working in television and film and she brings an exciting insight and perspective into the Boob Tube studio. In this episode, Tamar and Julie tackle issues including what it's like to write romance in the #MeToo era as well as what kind of responsibility writers and showrunners have to listen to what people are saying when it comes to criticizing their shows.  It was an absolute joy to steal 40 minutes with Julie Plec and we hope she'll visit Boob Tube again soon! Enjoy!! 

After a somewhat lengthy hiatus, Boob Tube is back with an exciting lineup of interviews! Kicking off our comeback is producer extraordinaire, Ngoc Nguyen.  Tamar had the opportunity to meet Ngoc at ATX Festival in June and was immediately blown away by the way she tackles life. She has been involved in some incredible projects and is always taking on new and exciting endeavors.  She drops some serious wisdom as she chats with Tamar about the arc of her career and how she's been fortunate enough to be surrounded by talented and encouraging women throughout her years in the industry.   

This week's guest is Michelle Regina Iacobelli who has served in several roles including 2nd 2nd AD, Key 2nd AD, and first AD on many different sets over the course of her nearly 20 years in the television and film industry.  Tamar had a chance to chat with Michelle about her experiences on these sets and the ways that she's seen women's issues evolve over two decades.  See below for Michelle's complete bio! Enjoy the episode! Michelle Regina (Iacobelli) has been working in television and film since she graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2000.  While attending R.P.I. Michelle produced her own segment entitled “Framed and Female” for local PBS Affiliate WMHT in Albany, New York as well as a short segment for National Public Radio. Michelle's senior project was a mixed media video installation entitled “Innocence” which highlighted young victims of gun violence. During her hiatus from classes Michelle interned at NBC in Rockefeller Center, New York City as well as Bunim-Murray Productions in Los Angeles. After graduation Michelle volunteered on independent films in any capacity that was needed. Two years later Michelle applied and was accepted into The Directors Guild of America Assistant Director Training Program. As a trainee Michelle worked on various television, film and commercial projects including The Notebook, ED, Hide & Seek, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.  At the end of her scheduled time as a trainee on L&O: SVU, Michelle was given the opportunity to be the 2nd 2nd Assistant Director for the next upcoming season.  From 2004 thru 2015 Michelle worked on 91 episodes of Law & Order: SVU as a 2nd 2nd AD, Key 2nd AD and First AD.  Within that time frame, Michelle was also able to work on different television projects including The Book of Daniel, The Sopranos, The Big C and Disney movie Enchanted.   During hiatus from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the summer of 2009, Michelle took an intensive film course at New York University with the sole objective of directing her own film. She created a short comedy about a gambler with an anxiety problem entitled Lott Oh. The short was accepted into several film festivals. In the summer of 2011, Michelle self-funded and directed a music documentary entitled Unforgettable Fire, the story of a U2 tribute band. Unforgettable Fire has made its way into fifteen film festivals and has won several awards including Best Documentary, Best Director and The Alice Guy Blachè award for Women in Cinema. In the fall of 2015 Michelle started working on Season 4 of The Americans and has stayed on for Seasons 5 and the Final Season 6. Michelle is currently working on getting her docu-series pilot TRIBUTE green lit.

This week on Boob Tube Tamar sits down with Liviya Kraemer, Director of Development and Co-Producer at Pretty Matches Productions. At PMP, Liv works on a team with Sarah Jessica Parker producing gems like HBO's Golden Globe-nominated Divorce and last year's beautiful film, Here and Now.  On Boob Tube, Liviya has the opportunity to share some of the wisdom she's gained as a woman in production as well as what it's been like to work in the TV industry in such a female-centric environment.  Hope you enjoy! As always, you can find the pod on twitter at @boobtubepodcast and email us at boobtubepod@gmail.com.

On the inaugural episode of Boob Tube, Tamar sits down with Carina Adly MacKenzie, creator and showrunner of Roswell, NM on the CW for a frank conversation about her experience as a female writer in the television industry. Together they explore the importance of having women in the writers' room, making sure the women feel safe on set, and pay equality for women writers, among other things.  If you'd like to reach out after the episdoe, Carina can be found on twitter at @cadlymack.  The podcast can be found on twitter at @boobtubepodcast and on instagram @boobtubepod. Emails can be sent to boobtubepod@gmail.com. 

Hi all!  Welcome to the Boob Tube Podcast with host Tamar Barbash of the  Shipping Room. Tune in every other Monday as Tamar chats with remarkable women in the television industry about their experiences making TV as women.  If you have thoughts as you listen, be sure to reach out to Tamar on twitter or shoot an email to boobtubepod@gmail.com.  Don't forget to subscribe on iTunes to get updates on new episodes as they're released. And of course, leave a review if you like what you're hearing. Any thoughts on who you'd want to hear on the show next?! Make sure to let us know!