Original Media made TV people watched. Ink Master. Swamp People. Storm Chasers They also produced Oscar-nominated films like The Squid and the Whale and Half Nelson. The place ran like a startup focusing on great IP development and content production innovations.

I started working there in college reviewing film scripts as an intern and helped launch The Gayle King Show on OWN in 2011. I left five years later running post production out of LA to start building in tech.

Swamp People pulled 3.1 million viewers on its premiere and drove History to #1 in cable television. By season two it averaged 4.1 million. Ink Master ran 17 seasons across Spike, Paramount Network, and now Paramount+. The company was acquired by Endemol while I was there and later merged with True Entertainment to form Truly Original, which still produces both franchises today.