Managed studio production operations for NBC’s revival of the classic elimination game show, hosted by Jane Lynch.
Weakest Link is NBC’s revival of the classic trivia elimination game show, hosted by Jane Lynch, in which contestants build a cash pot by answering questions correctly while voting each other off the show. As Production Manager, I managed studio production operations including logistics, budgets, vendor onboarding, and travel, and coordinated cross-functional teams across production and corporate departments.
Behind the Scenes
Where were you?
Los Angeles, California
What’s the moment things went sideways?
There was so much planning that went into the pre production of the show that the small hiccups stayed that way, small. We were able to tour the stage a few days before filming which helped because we could visually see and start mapping out where each of the networks were going to sit and work during filming. Because of all the meetings and planning that there wasn’t a moment where things felt like we had to make a decision quickly.
A crew or cast story that still gets told
We had a school classroom come to set one day, we gave them a whole tour of the stage and control room. They were able to see firsthand how a shoot day works. It was a fun day to see them get excited about what we do. They were asking questions, able to see a show be directed in real time, and what it takes to put it all together. It was fun to see the excitement through their eyes.
What would a viewer never guess?
We are able to shoot multiple episodes a day. Before we start filming, we lay out the entire season and what episodes we are going to shoot. Within that schedule we schedule the talent as well, there are times when we need to move an episode because most of the talent we would like are not available. It is important to lock that in before we start filming so we know what the season will look like. There are some moments when talent needs to cancel last minute due to something coming up, but that is when we look at the list from the beginning when we are thinking of each episode and start reaching out to them.
What were you actually running day to day?
Being on the corporate side of this project, my day to day was checking in with the production team and heads of department to make sure everything was running smoothly. I would check in with the Line Producer to make sure that the day was going as planned and then the heads of department, like post to make sure they were able to upload footage to our drives so that the editors were able to access the footage and start editing the episodes.
What are you proudest of on this one?
I grew up watching this show with my family, I enjoyed the show as a kid so working on this even for a short period of time was a fun, lived-out childhood memory. Made me feel proud that I have worked so hard to get to that moment.