I’ve always been interested in how the sausage is made so to speak, so I decided to interview a reality TV casting director this week for podcast #106, Shannon McCarty. She’s cast for such shows as the “Real World,” “Are You the One?,” and “Biggest Loser” to name a few. She’s been in the industry since 2002 and resume runs pretty deep. I get emailed a lot by people asking me “What are they looking for when they cast people?” Now Shannon has never cast for the “Bachelor” franchise, but if you listen to the interview, I don’t think what she says is probably much different than what any casting person is looking for. Really interesting look behind-the-scenes on what goes into casting, how it’s changed over the years, what they’re looking for, when she can spot a phony, etc. Something a little different for you this week but staying in the reality TV world as I know people are fascinated by who gets cast on these shows and how. For those that didn’t read yesterday’s spoiler column on how Colton’s season ends, I do begin the podcast by briefly recapping it, so just know you’ve been warned if for whatever reason you don’t want to be spoiled. There’s still more to come spoiler-wise this season as I’m sure I’ll find out more details as the season goes along, plus, we have your episode-by-episode spoilers coming in the next couple of weeks or so which have some interesting storylines in them.

You can listen to today’s podcast on a number of platforms, but you can also tune in by clicking the player below:



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Music written by Jimmer Podrasky

(B’Jingo Songs/Machia Music/Bug Music BMI)

(SPOILERS) I begin the podcast by briefly recapping yesterday’s spoilers on the site, then Shannon joins me to talk about how she got started in her career (7:15), what exactly does her job entail (8:50), what is she looking for when she casts reality TV contestants (11:18), people auditioning who want to be like other past contestants (13:44), does she like doing casting calls (19:55), does she specifically seek out contestants with tragic backstories (24:10), contestant who she’s seen grown the most (26:59), the changes over the years in casting & did she think it’d still be around (30:34), the return of Real World coming to Facebook Watch (35:18), will there be fan interaction (39:14), does she cast people in hopes they hook up (42:32), and where does she see the industry in 5-10 years (46:44).

Send all links and emails to: steve@realitysteve.com. To follow me on Twitter, it’s: www.twitter.com/RealitySteve. Instagram name is “RealitySteve,” join my Reality Steve Facebook Fan Page, or listen to all my podcasts at Apple Podcasts. Talk to you next week.