New Yorkers may have their “Stoop,” but next month New Jersey is going to get its “Deck.”
Hosted and produced by Jersey City resident Leah Guy, “Who’s on Deck” is a new talk show that will make its debut on cable TV stations in August. It promises to be a fun gab-fest that tries to strike the right balance between serious and silly.
The show naturally brings to mind Cat Greenleaf’s “Talk Stoop,” a talk show that airs locally on NBC. Each week Greenleaf interviews her celebrity guests from the steps of a Brooklyn brownstone, hence the name, which is itself a play on the name of another show, “Talk Soup.” (“Talk Soup” was an off-beat E! Entertainment Television round-up of some of the more humorous outtakes from weekly talk shows. The show is now simply called “The Soup.”)
As this lineage suggests, “Who’s on Deck” diverts from the standard talk show format and goes for something a bit idiosyncratic instead.
Don’t expect Guy to go all Oprah on her guests.
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Using her television industry contacts and personal resources, Guy reached out to a few celebrity friends to see if they would be willing to tape a few introductory segments of what ultimately became “Who’s on Deck.”
“As people started doing it, the word got out,” she recalled. “And now, more and more, everyone is wanting to be on the ‘Deck.’ ”
A Girl Named Guy is born
A professional licensed massage therapist who has worked in the holistic health industry for 15 years, Guy said her introduction to TV and television production was somewhat “unusual.”
“A lot of times [TV] news reporters would need someone to give interviews about various topics like yoga or vegetarianism or some area of holistic health,” Guy, a native of Kentucky said. “And I was working at companies where no one else felt comfortable going before the camera, and I did. So, over time I just sort of became that on-air person who would do those sorts of interviews. Eventually, I realized that there was a real need out there for good information on holistic health.”
This led her in 2006 to start the aptly named TV production company A Girl Named Guy, now based in Jersey City, where Guy has been living for the past five years. Since its founding, a Girl Named Guy has produced video segments on such topics as green living, aromatherapy, healthy eating tips, yoga, and massage therapy. Through her production company Guy has also published books and online content for businesses in the holistic health industry.
From Chopra to the bachelor pad
“Who’s on Deck,” the latest project from A Girl Named Guy, builds on this history by expanding the company’s lifestyle content.
The 30-minute segments feature a single guest whom Guy interviews from her Jersey City deck. (She admits that when the weather starts getting bad in the winter some taping may actually be done from her living room. “But the living room looks out over the deck. So, we’ll still have the feeling of being on the deck,” she said.)
The rage of guests on the Deck thus far is broad – from spiritual guru Deepak Chopra to David Good, a contestant from “The Bachelorette,” season five.
“I try to keep the shows interesting and light, so they aren’t so serious. But at the same time I want them to be thoughtful,” Guy noted. “When I interview my guests, I’m interested in exploring why they think certain things, or why they made certain decisions. So, exploring the why is the way I think this show is different from other talk shows.”
But don’t expect Guy to go all Oprah on her guests. The host said viewers should expect a bit of spontaneity and whimsy – impromptu dancing, singing, etc. – on the show alongside the straight interviews.
Guy has already taped 10 shows that should hit the cable airwaves the last week of August.
The show’s target audience, she said, is adults ages 25 to 54.
“The show,” said Guy, “is really for anyone who wants to learn a little something that maybe they hadn’t thought of before, while being entertained.”
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.