Six Emmys. Multiple television shows airing across numerous prime time networks. Movies, commercials, apps, radio...producer Nancy Glass is one of the busiest—and most successful—women in the entertainment industry.
Nancy is at the helm of Glass Entertainment Group, and she currently has eleven shows on the air that run on major networks such as A&E, Nat Geo, CNN, Travel, Animal Planet, and more. The company has also produced commercials, phone apps, and radio shows, and is particularly excited about a film project called “How to Get Girls.”
On August 15, 2018, Nancy discussed her absolutely incredible career and more via an exclusive interview.
Producing television and working with networks
Meagan Meehan (MM): How did you initially get started in producing television and what was the first television series you produced?
Nancy Glass (NG): I’ve actually been in the business since I was a teenager. I got my first on-air job at the NBC affiliate in Boston when I was a senior in college. It sounds impressive but, I was so bad my parents asked me to change my name! I have been a producer from day one, but when I started my company, our first network client was HGTV. We produced specials on great houses including “Model Homes” (homes of supermodels) “Ink Pads” (homes of famous writers) “Fun Houses” ( homes of famous comedians) etc.
MM: How did you come to produce “How to Get Girls” and why was it so appealing?
NG: I was giving a talk at Wharton (the University of Pennsylvania), and there was a kid in the class with this distractingly large head of hair. It was a soufflé! On top of this hair was a long red and white stocking cap. After the lecture, he bounced over to me, introduced himself as Zach Fox and announced that he was a comedian and wanted to show me his work.
I didn’t know what to expect but, what he showed me edgy and hilarious. A few weeks later he gave me a script for a movie he wrote with his best friend (Omri Dorani). I loved the script. It made me laugh out loud. I knew that he and his writing partner had never done anything like this but, there is a market for young fresh comedic talent.
I decided to produce and finance the movie.
MM: How did you establish Glass Entertainment Group?
NG: In 2000 I decided that after twelve years of commuting from Philadelphia to New York on a daily basis, I wanted to do something different. I had a great career anchoring and reporting on national television shows. But, I have always liked writing and producing better than being on the air and, I had worked for various networks and could see that cable was overtaking broadcast television. I had lots of ideas and really good relationships with the networks where I had worked. So, I began pitching ideas to those networks, and they bought some shows.
Shows, content, challenges, and Emmy's
MM: How many shows do you have on air at present (please name some) and sets you apart from other content?
NG: What sets us apart is the staff. They are some of the most creative people I have ever known. On top of that, the teamwork at the company is amazing. We currently have twenty projects in various stages of production. This year we produced “Pope” for CNN, “Tanked” and “The Vet Life” for Animal Planet, “Dessert Flippers” for HGTV, “Dahmer on Dahmer” for Oxygen, “Hit Properties” with Nate Morris and “Lawn & Order” for DIY, “Killer Closer” for Discovery ID and “Let’s Eat” for The Food Network…just to name a few!
MM: You have won six Emmy’s, so what is it like to attend these ceremonies, win, and then walk off holding the award in your hands?
NG: It actually is fun just to be nominated, and I have lost more than I have won LOL.
Winning is amazing, and when it comes to losing, you hope to lose early in the evening so you can stop worrying about how you look and just have dessert.
MM: Typically, what sort of content do you look for as a producer?
NG: I look for great stories and interesting characters.
MM: What are the biggest challenges of being a producer and are any types of media harder to produce and promote than others?
NG: All media is the same. The challenge is to stay fresh and find new ways to express your creativity. I am excited about everything we have coming up, but networks don’t allow us to talk about projects until they are about to be on the air.