Today we’d like to introduce you to Jen Cassell
Hi Jen, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’ve always had a knack for storytelling and performing—whether I was entertaining my friends and family growing up or playing a role on stage. I’ve also somehow become a magnet for the most interesting people. It’s like they need to spill their life story to me. Like that time I sat next to a blind woman on a plane who could see the dead (yep, that happened), and she proceeded to tell me her entire life story. Or the time I was on a Greyhound bus, and a woman—leaving home, no less—asked to rest her head on my shoulder. Apparently, I’m the designated therapist for strangers…and I love it.
I went to college for theater, but it wasn’t until I moved to Los Angeles that I realized there were a million different ways to tell stories and entertain. So, I took an internship at an unscripted production company, where my job was to find fascinating people and create show concepts around their lives. And, if I’m being honest, it came pretty naturally to me—see above—and I quickly realized I was pretty good at it.
From there, I started developing my own show ideas and bringing them to life by discovering unique characters. I moved from development to field work, then to the edit bay in post-production, and now, at Shed Media I am overseeing both production and development.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There are always challenges in any job, but in the entertainment industry, I think the biggest one for me is the lack of control over whether or not my idea actually makes it to television. I can work tirelessly to develop a concept, create sales materials, produce a pilot—and then… nothing. I’ve had so many close calls with shows I thought were slam dunks, and then there are shows I wasn’t fully convinced about that actually got made. As someone who likes to be in control, this can be maddening… but I try to keep my head down, roll up my sleeves, and get back to work.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am the Vice President of Programming and Development at Shed Media, a Warner Bros. Discovery production company, and I also serve as an Executive Producer on our series. My job is to create show ideas and guide them from conception to completion, overseeing the production of the series. My position is unique in that I oversee two departments simultaneously while still remaining hands-on in the content creation process. I’m most proud of my ability to keep developing projects that I would watch or that are meaningful to me, in an industry that’s full of “no’s.”
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Resilience: having the ability to not give up and remain adaptable is the most important quality. It’s easy to quit, but far more difficult to stay self-motivated when it feels like nothing will ever come together. Pushing through moments of doubt, knowing that each step forward, no matter how small, contributes to eventual progress. It’s in these moments of wanting to throw in the towel and instead moving forward that real growth happens
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @jenniferbainbridgecassell
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.bainbridge.58
Image Credits
Tom Morris
Kevin Ostajewski
