Today’s profile subject currently has three primetime animated series on the air. Because of the demands of the medium, this means that at any one time she could be producing well over 100 episodes in various stages of prep, production, and post. Still, she scoffs when people ask in disbelief how she handles overseeing 3/4 of the Fox Sunday Night Animation Block. “It’s really not that complicated. It’s people drawing funny drawings.”  Regardless of her nonchalance, here at YII, we are impressed and we think our readers will be, too…

Current position: Producer of “Family Guy,” “American Dad!,” and “The Cleveland Show.”

College & degree: Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in New York.

Pre-entertainment career: I was a bartender at a 50s-themed restaurant and then worked as an assistant to a theatrical producer for two years.

First job in the entertainment industry: My first entertainment job was at a commercial animation studio called Broadcast Arts. I was the assistant to one of the partners, a malevolent and sadistic person. I don’t deny that I learned a lot in my two years there, but it was such a traumatizing experience that I abruptly packed up and moved 3,000 miles away to LA, where I knew no one and had no contacts, no car, no real plan.

Big break: Never had a big break. I had to scratch and claw my way to the top, for every opportunity.

Career Path: Once in LA, I temped for almost a year, taking the bus to a series of increasingly bizarre and demeaning jobs. At one of these, a file clerk job at a bank in Sherman Oaks where I was once reprimanded for not wearing pantyhose (this was in August), I was reading the paper one day and I saw that Paramount was opening an animation studio (Hyperion). I called, had an interview the next day, and got a job. I was the first person hired. It was so early on in their formulation, I didn’t even have a specific position when I was hired. I eventually became the production layout supervisor on an animated feature called “BéBé’s Kids.” From there, I went to “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” at Fred Wolf Films and then I worked at Hanna-Barbera, which was where I met Seth MacFarlane.

Working at Hanna-Barbera was a thrill because they had created all my favorite cartoons like “The Jetsons,” “Scooby-Doo!” and “The Flintstones.”  I was hired to produce a show for them called “Johnny Bravo.” For the first few months I worked there, it was still owned by Turner and it was a really creative and exciting place to work. They had an active and inspired development department from which great shows like “The Power Puff Girls” and “Dexter’s Laboratory” were created.

When “Family Guy” was picked up by Fox, I was committed to my job as producer on “Dilbert,” the animated version of the comic strip for Sony, with the show’s creator, Larry Charles. I moved over to producing “Family Guy” at the start of the third season.

During that season, we had a 13 episode order and were juggled around in the schedule quite a bit, so the ratings weren’t reflecting the fact that anyone was actually watching the show, and “Family Guy” was sort of quietly folded.

While “Family Guy” was dead (or so we thought), I produced a show for MTV called “3 South” with one of the writers of “Family Guy” who wanted the show to have the look and feel of a show that could air alongside “The Simpsons” on Sunday night, even though we were working on a basic cable budget. It was on for 13 episodes and cancelled.

Following ”3 South,” I produced the pilot for “Drawn Together,” which had just gotten a 13 episode pick-up from Comedy Central (I was hours away from signing a deal with them) when I got a call from our Fox executive from “Family Guy” saying that the show was being put back on the schedule. It was a surprise, but not entirely out of left field since Volume One and Two of the DVDs had sold very well (about 1 ½ million copies each), and the late night Cartoon Network reruns of the show were getting huge ratings, even beating “Leno” and “Letterman” in that key young male demographic we appeal to.

At almost the same time “Family Guy” was resurrected (actually about a week later), “American Dad!” was greenlit. We started production on the 1st season of “American Dad!” and the 4th season of “Family Guy” at the same time.

Eureka moment: After the first episode of “3 South” (which we had produced for about one-third of what an episode of “Family Guy” cost to produce) aired, I got a call from Seth and he said something like, “How come you’re the only person who understands how to produce adult primetime animated series?”

When “Family Guy” had first premiered, several networks besides Fox tried their hands at primetime animation and none of them panned out because the shows didn’t feel like the animated shows the audiences had become accustomed to watching.

Adults had to be eased into the idea of a show worth watching being animated and it only happened through the genius of “The Simpsons.” Other primetime shows, like “Mission Hill,” may have worked, but the design styles were so glaring and overbearing, they were immediate turnoffs and these shows didn’t resonate with viewers.

Since “The Simpsons” and then “King of the Hill” had gone on to become such huge hits, an aesthetic had been established which created an expectation by the audience for how an adult animated show was supposed to look and feel through the style of voice acting, design, and timing. It’s difficult to succeed in this genre, especially when your resources are so limited. “The Simpsons” set the bar very high. 

Describe a typical work day in your current position: When I get to work, I chat about last night’s ball games with the assistants for a while, then go into my office and look at news stories and lie in wait for the phone to start ringing. Between three series running concurrently, most mornings there is either a table read, an anamatic screening, or a color screening followed by basically 10 hours of decision-making.

There are 22 episodes per season for each of the three shows we have on the air and they have very long, overlapping schedules. For instance, right now we are finalizing and then airing episodes for Season 1 of “The Cleveland Show” and doing production on Season 2. We have a staff of over 300 people and at the height of the schedule, we can be juggling up to 132 episodes. 

Essentially, my job is to satisfy Seth, the fans, the studio, and the network, all separate but equally important. With their sets of priorities and agendas, I have to make sure that everyone is happy, that the shows get on the air every week, that the ratings stay strong, and that we don’t get sued along the way.

Worst day in entertainment industry: I’ve had two worst days on this job, one here and one on foreign soil. The American bad day was having to call the entire staff into the conference room and tell them the writers were on strike. It was terrible. Every week saw another 10 or 15 people get laid off. On top of that, I still had to deliver the remaining shows without having writers.

The other bad day was when I went to Korea to visit our two animation studios. One of them was having quality issues and I had a meeting with them to discuss options such as decreasing the number of episodes they would do. But they were lobbying hard for more episodes. As I was being ushered out, I looked around and realized they were quickly packing up boxes. It looked like the final days at Enron. They were going out of business right then. In other words, half of our overseas team was going out of business. It was a huge blow and until we got the other studio to pick up the slack and then got an additional studio in place, it was tough, very stressful.

Best job in entertainment industry: A few years ago, I was approached by director Jessica Wu to produce the animation sequences for a documentary called IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL, about the artist, Henry Darger. It was a thrill to work on a show that wasn’t targeted at teenaged boys.

Best thing about your current job: There are three things- I get to work with the most talented artists and writers in town, in my opinion. I get to work with my friend, Seth. And I get to employ 300 people during a recession.

Worst thing about your current job: Any time I have to deal with idiots. I hate arrogance and disrespect for other people. This job is by nature relentless and demanding. Having to deal with any kind of politics, gossip, abuse of power, anything like that. The worst.

Brush with greatness: Being on a successful show has opened the door to collaborating with a lot of people. My premiere brush with greatness has to be George Lucas, who we collaborated with on the STAR WARS episode of “Family Guy.” While we were working on the episode, he invited us up to stay at Skywalker Ranch. He had a screening of the new series he was working on and also screened THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK for us in his private screening room.

Secret of your success/advice to the newbie: Some of those platitudes are true. Follow your passion and play to your strengths. But really, don’t be stupid. Read, know stuff, be informed, and have decent basic writing skills. When you get a job, just work harder than everyone else. And never ask a question of a coworker or a superior until you have exhausted every option to find out the answer. Be focused. Never stop learning. And don’t freak out.  Nothing ends up being as bad as it might seem. I have never encountered a problem that couldn’t be solved by throwing money at it.

Next move (or next five moves): More spins offs. Claymation domination. A whole night of claymation shows. (Laughs, then…) What I’d like to accomplish in terms of animation is to keep connecting with next generation viewers and fans of the medium by anticipating and utilizing new formats and distribution methods.

“Family Guy” fans (and who isn’t?) should tune in this Sunday night (5/23) for the one-hour season finale, “Something, Something, Something Dark Side, Parts One and Two,” a continuation of their homage to the STAR WARS saga in the form of a retelling of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. 

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Tags: American Dad, Family Guy, Kara Vallow, Producer, Seth MacFarlane, The Cleveland Show, TV Producer

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 at 11:45 pm and is filed under Industry Pro - TV, producer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.