Story Time - Who Let This Kid onto a TV Set?

It was Fall of 2001 and Fall of 2004. I would have been 8 and 11 years old when these stories took place. I have broken them up into 2 parts. Everybody in LA knows that this time of year is pilot season which means everyone is out there trying to get their TV show picked up by networks and big studios. There was a new(ish) show airing at the time called What I Like About You which starred Amanda Bynes and Jennie Garth. It was a sitcom that aired on the WB (now the CW) and lasted for four seasons. It followed two sisters who ended up living together in their NYC apartment where they got themselves into all kinds of mischief. 

Part I A Sticky Situation

My uncle, myself and my sister hanging out on the WB Backlot in 2001

My uncle is a web designer but at the time he was doing web design work for various artists in the entertainment industry. This was back in the day when people had official websites and no social media like Twitter, Instagram or Facebook to promote themselves. One of his clients was actress Jennie Garth. They became good friends and she would invite him to the set of this show to watch tapings. My uncle being the awesome uncle he is, decided to take my sister and I to these tapings. The show shot over at the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank. This was right before they started offering studio tours, so from what I recall this backlot was invitation only or you had to work there to get access inside. We were Jennie’s guests so we were her personal invite. Technically, Randy, who was her manager, hooked us up. Shoutout to Randy. We went through security and were led to the soundstage where we were shown our seats. The seats in the front were “reserved” for us so we sat down. Being an 8 year old who was obsessed with movies and TV shows, I really didn’t know anything about the process of making them. For those who have never been to a TV show taping before you are not allowed to bring in phones, cameras or food. There is also an age limit which I did not know until much later. Clearly, I was the exception back then. 

Amanda Bynes autograph

Sitcom tapings are usually four hours long and they will feed you snacks and food while you’re there. Shoutout to Crafty. You get bathroom breaks but they have to be in-between scenes so you don’t disrupt the filming. The first thing I noticed as an 8 year old was how small the sets were. Everything looks 10x larger on a TV than it does in-person. I was a super shy kid, which my uncle knew, so when Amanda Bynes came out to say hi to the audience he walked me over to her and I got to meet her. My parents were with us and my mom told her how big of a fan I was of The Amanda Show and how much I loved her. Amanda was so sweet and appreciative. She had to have been 15 at the time. I remember seeing her parents on set too. She was nice enough to sign a photo I had brought with me. To this day, I have nothing but good things to say about her. Everybody is going through something and we’re all trying our best.

Before Jennie Garth came out, her husband at the time came out to say hi to us personally. He shook everyone’s hand and talked with my uncle for a bit. This person was Peter Fascinelli. Most people know him as Carlile from the Twilight movies. He was really nice. While this interaction was going on I was more interested in watching the camera and electrical crew set up for a scene. I was so fascinated by them scurrying around like mice and working as a team. I got out a Rice Crispy Treat and was eating it while I was absorbing everything that was going on and halfway through eating it I dropped it, it fell over the side of the railing and onto a pile of neatly wound camera cables. Next to the cables was a pair of boots and I remember my eyes following those boots up to a disgruntled crew member’s face looking at me like I had just ruined his entire day. He picked up my Rice Crispy Treat and threw it in the trash. At the time I felt so embarrassed. Now looking back at it, it makes me laugh so hard because I now understand this man having crewed on various video projects myself. The last thing you want to do after a shoot is to coil cables up that are all sticky and disgusting. I vividly remember it bouncing off the cables and landing onto his steel toed shoes.

“What I Like About You” Cast

The thing to know about attending live tapings of any kind but especially sitcoms is how much work it actually is being an audience member. You have to actively laugh and react to things in a scene that might not always be that funny. Forced laughter is hard but it’s even harder when scenes are shot out of order and you have no idea what’s going on or they have to shoot multiple takes of the same scenes. That might be part of the reason why they have an age restriction at these shows is because they know jokes hit differently with adults than they do with children. I loved the show, but as a kid I don’t remember laughing that much during the taping. I was just there to take up space, not contribute any of my laughter and make a mess on set.

Part II This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

After having my first exposure to real Hollywood filmmaking, I became obsessed with the process. Seeing the fancy cameras, the actors performing, the director directing. It opened my eyes to an industry that I had always hoped to work in one day. I wanted to learn everything about it. I was now 11 years old and I begged my uncle to let us come back and see another taping. Randy (the Manager) hooked us up again. This time, we had less of a seat selection choice. I think relatives of some of the actors or crew were there so we only had 2 reserved seats instead of nearly the whole role like last time. My sister and her friend got to sit up front while I had to sit in the back of the audience with the rest of my family. I was disappointed about that. It made me sad because I couldn’t see all that was going on down below.

Autographs from some of the cast

During one of the breaks, Randy who was sitting behind us asked me if I wanted to meet one of the actors on the show. He pointed behind us and Nick Zano who played Vince (also starred in DC’s Legend of Tomorrow, The Final Destination and 2 Broke Girls) was standing at the back of the room where we were seated. Actors can no longer do this by the way and you will find out why in a second. I said “yes” and he led me over to him. I was an 11 year old girl so I was starstruck to be standing in front of a cute guy. At the time he was probably in his 20’s. I remember he was wearing a striped button down shirt that he had been wearing in a previous scene. From what I recall he asked how I was and what my name was. He gave me a hug and I remember as we were hugging I could see Amanda Bynes in the background standing there looking up at us like a hawk. I didn’t know this at the time but they were dating each other in real life. Amanda was 18 or 19 by this point. I think she thought I was trying to steal her man. Or maybe she was just curious and wanted to see where her boyfriend went off to. The latter is the more likely of scenarios. He put his arm around me and was like, “I’ll walk you back to your seat.” At this moment, my sister who was way at the front of the audience turned around, saw me getting this attention and literally started climbing over seats to get to us. This obviously drew attention to us so other teenage girls in the audience noticed Nick was in the audience and they also started coming for us. Nick being the great guy that he is, shielded me from all of these crazed hormonal girls trying to throw themselves at him. He finally got me back to my seat and asked if I was okay. After that he went back to set and nobody was allowed back up there.

I’m pretty confident that my sister starting a frenzy is the reason why actors can’t stand back there anymore. It was bound to happen eventually. If not my sister then someone else. For everyone’s safety you need to have some boundaries in place. This is a working set, not an amusement park. After the taping ended, I met Wesley Jonathan who plays Gary. He was super sweet. Michael McMillian was also there even though he wasn’t in the episode. He played Amanda’s old love interest on the show. I was happy I recognized him and was able to get him to sign some stuff for me too. Michael went on to star in True Blood, The Hills Have Eyes 2 and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

These experiences I had as a child shaped who I am now as a creator. If it wasn’t for visiting this set and getting to run around the WB backlot I most likely wouldn’t have pursued a career in video production. I was never good at sports growing up, so seeing people work as a team to produce cool projects, I knew these were my kind of people. My dream has always been to work at a big movie studio. A full circle moment would be landing a job at Warner Brothers Studios. I have been on numerous studio tours there and every time I set foot through those gates I feel like I’m home. I’ve never felt more of a belonging than I do in that type of environment. The dream of working there has yet to be realized, but I know one day it will happen. If not there then at another studio where I could learn more about the business side of this industry and get that first hand knowledge and experience of working in the entertainment business.