Vault: Jeff is taking his reality TV pitch to LA

Summary

---

The Bert Show: "Vault: Jeff is taking his reality TV pitch to LA"

Date: June 15, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, the Bert Show crew discusses co-host Jeff’s journey taking his original TV show pitches to Los Angeles, exploring the unpredictable process of getting ideas in front of Hollywood decision-makers. Jeff shares the rollercoaster experience of moving from scribbled concepts to actual studio meetings, revealing the patience, luck, and persistence needed when pitching shows. The conversation deftly mixes humor, hope, and a little disbelief as the team learns the ins and outs of TV development.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Origin of the TV Show Ideas

• Jeff’s Inspiration: Jeff describes how his show ideas started: “A couple years ago I just had an idea...I wrote them all down like in one paragraph form and had them saved in a file on my computer and then randomly encountered someone who has associations with TV...” (01:35)
• Hollywood Networking: Discussion on the nature of LA connections: “...the thing with LA, honestly, is everybody knows somebody who knows somebody.” (02:43)
• Progression of the Pitch: Jeff sends out his ideas, leading to a stranger requesting treatments for five out of ten concepts. (04:20)

2. Taking Ideas to the Next Level

• Writing Treatments: Jeff explains, “A treatment is basically a two or three page piece of paper that says a description, a more detailed description of the idea. Think of it as a book report for a TV show.” (05:07)
• Hiring a Professional: He hires someone with TV experience as an editor but insists on writing treatments himself. (05:07)
• Momentum to Reality: After over a year, three of his concepts get interest from industry professionals: “...I got a phone call...there are three concepts that have your name on them. We want to talk to you about these.” (05:49)

3. Behind the Scenes of TV Pitches

• Confidentiality and Legality: Jeff is sent a 40-page confidentiality document, making the process feel “real”: “It is a 40 page thick confidentiality document. It's now in a three ring binder.” (07:18, 07:32)
  • He signs and returns it, receiving compensation for doing so: “They pay you for signing that.” (07:45)
• What’s at Stake: If the meeting goes well, the studio could buy the rights to his concept and pay Jeff for further development. (08:08)
• Time Expectations: Jeff tempers excitement, recalling, “I have another friend...his dragged out for 18 months and then nothing came of it.” (08:20)

4. Concept Details and Staying Involved

• Types of Shows: Most concepts are scripted (sitcoms/dramas), some inspired by radio:
  • “There was reality ones in the bunch, but they're real written.” (07:04)
  • “Any based on radio?” “Yeah, yeah.” (07:10)
• Creative Involvement:
  • Jeff confirms: “Absolutely” he can remain involved if they buy his idea, and can even work remotely: “I can do it from Atlanta...we can do, I mean all the Skype and everything, writers meetings and all that stuff.” (09:08-09:10)
• Team’s Playful Concerns: The cast jokes about seeing their real personalities on TV:
  • “If the show about radio actually makes it, you may have more people in here pissed at you than love you.” (09:25)
  • “But you know what? We can't be because we'll go tell all our friends. Well, that was actually based on me.” (09:34)

5. Hollywood Hopes and Realities

• The Waiting Game: The group discusses how studios may purchase rights but let ideas languish.
• Memorable Quote:
  • Jeff: “If they sit in a folder on my computer forever, then nothing will ever come to it if I email it...If I email it out...and then two years later that show...appears and then I have the email that I sent and I could have a lawsuit, but...it's such a slow moving process.” (03:39)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Networking in LA:

  • “...everybody knows somebody who knows somebody. Like, of course you go to LA and within 15 minutes you can find somebody who's assistant or you know, whose cousin is the assistant to the woman who's the assistant to Tom Cruise...” — Jeff (02:43)

• About Sharing Ideas:

  • “Are you afraid that your idea will get ripped off?”
  • “No, not really. Because it was never anything real to me and I was like, if they sit in a folder on my computer forever, then nothing will ever come to it.” — Jeff (03:33-03:39)

• On Creative Involvement:

  • “And if they buy it from you, do you get to stay involved on the creative side?”
  • “Absolutely.” — (09:03-09:08)

• On Having a Show About Radio:

  • “If the show about radio actually makes it, you may have more people in here pissed at you than love you. Cause we'll be watching the show going, wait a minute.” — Co-host (09:25)

---

Important Segment Timestamps

• 01:35–02:43 – How Jeff’s ideas started and LA’s networking culture
• 03:33–05:07 – Fear of idea theft, industry realities, and moving ahead with treatments
• 05:47–07:18 – Initial interest from producers and the arrival of the confidentiality binder
• 07:55–08:20 – Possibility of selling show rights and the Hollywood timeline
• 09:03–09:10 – Jeff’s continuing creative involvement from Atlanta

---

Tone & Atmosphere

• The conversation is upbeat, laced with the show’s signature humor and self-deprecation.
• Jeff’s storytelling conveys a mix of optimism, caution, and gratefulness.
• The cast jokes about the prospect of seeing aspects of themselves fictionalized on TV and express genuine support for Jeff’s endeavor.

---

This episode provides a candid, entertaining look into what it takes for a regular person — even a radio show host — to nudge creative ideas from the “what if” stage toward the bright lights of Hollywood, with all the uncertainty and excitement that journey entails.

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

Okay, can we talk about how confusing weight loss has become? Like, one minute it's carbs are bad and then the next it's no, actually carbs are fine, but only if you walk 10,000 steps and drink a green juice. And honestly, it's just a lot. And then even if you do lose the weight, keeping it off is a whole different story. If you're struggling and want something that fits your real life, hers can help. It's designed to support you in reaching your goals in a way that actually fits your life. That's why weight loss by hers is getting so much attention right now. Hers connects you with licensed medical providers who create doctor developed treatment plans tailored to you. They offer access to an affordable range of FDA approved GLP1 medications, including the Wegovy pill and the Wegovy pen. It helps regulate your appetite so you eat less and keep the weight off. If you're ready to reach your goals and want to try something new, visit for hers.combert to get personalized affordable care that gets you that's F O R h e r s.comb for hers.com Bert Weightliftsbyhurst is not available in all 50 states, but go via registered trademark of Novo Nordisk A S to get started and learn more, including important safety information with Gobi clinical study information and restrictions, visit borhears.com what's going on everyone?

[Bluff]

It's Bluff here and we're driving through the states in the Bluff mobile and the best thing that we can do is play our favorite casino style games. On Spin Quest they have over a thousand games including live dealer blackjack and craps. With tons of slots and unlimited options. You can get a 30 coin pack for just $10. For new users sign up today. Go to spinquest.com right now Spinquest is

[TV Show Creator]

a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details.

[Co-host]

It's the vert show, so Jeff is heading on out to la. Pretty exciting.

[TV Show Creator]

Yeah, I am leaving tomorrow after the show and I actually have a couple things going on out there which it's kind of like when it rains, it pours philosophy, which is really weird. But a couple years ago I just had an idea and I think, you know, we're all creative people in here. So I just had some ideas for TV shows and concepts for TV shows and so I wrote them all down like in one paragraph form and had them like saved in a file on my computer and then randomly encountered someone who has associations with, you know, TV and said, hey, I have what's the next step? What do I do? It's certainly nothing I need to do, you know, make a living off of. Although there was a time a couple weeks ago when I was thinking, really should have moved that along faster. But I said, you know, what's the next step? And he said, well, let me see him and I'll, you know, I can ask around. So this is literally like 18 months ago. So I.

[Co-host]

Is this person somebody well connected in the TV industry in la?

[TV Show Creator]

They're not well connected, but they just know, they know people who know people type of thing, like every. And you know, the thing with la, honestly is everybody knows somebody who knows somebody. Like, of course you go to la and within 15 minutes you can find somebody who's assistant or you know, whose cousin is the assistant to the woman who's the assistant to Tom Cruise, that type of thing.

[Producer/Industry Insider]

And sometimes they really are right, which is the surprising part when they really do know what they're doing.

[TV Show Creator]

In my case, that's what ended up happening. Like, you know, I knew this person kind of well, fairly well. I know him through college, through Syracuse University, so I, I knew they had some success out there in Hollywood and la. So I said, I just. And we were talking randomly, I didn't pursue it, I just said, what's the next step? And he goes, well, send them to me and I'll circulate it around. So I sent it to him and

[Producer/Industry Insider]

then at that point, I'm sorry to interrupt, but at that point, are you afraid that your ideal will get ripped off?

[TV Show Creator]

No, not really. Because it was never anything real to me and I was like, if they sit in a folder on my computer forever, then nothing will ever come to it if I email it. Like my honest to goodness thinking when it happened was if I email it out to somebody and it gets circulated around and then two years later that show, one of those shows appears and then I have the email that I sent and I could have a lawsuit, but I watched a friend of mine try to get stuff on TV and I've seen, seen it happen a couple times and it just doesn't. It's such a slow moving process.

[Friend/Supporter]

It's more involved than I think a

[TV Show Creator]

lot of people think.

[Co-host]

It's so competitive too. Everybody has a great idea, Right?

[TV Show Creator]

Right. So anyway, so I had these, and it was a Word document with these paragraphs and I sent it out and then like 30 days later a random person sends me an email and says, hey, I received your stuff from a person that I didn't know, so it had worked its way around to somebody and would you be willing to expand on and I think there were like 10 ideas. Would you be willing to expand on five of them? And I need you to write a treatment for these five of them. And a treatment is basically a two or three page piece of paper that says a description, a more detailed description of the idea. Think of it as a book report for a TV show that who, what,

[Producer/Industry Insider]

where, when, why, how, right?

[TV Show Creator]

So they said, well, you write treatments. So I got on the Internet and googled and I looked up people and there's people who write treatments for a living. So I hired one of those as an editor. I wanted to write them myself and I worked on it and I honestly, I took my time because it was still, you know, out Q in hundreds, you know, full time job and I never thought it would be a real thing. So I wrote the treatments and I sent those out and rate. That was a year ago. And I sent those out and had phone calls back and forth and questions and all this other stuff. And then within the past, since December

[Guest Speaker]

1,

[TV Show Creator]

since middle of November, because it was right around my birthday, I got a phone call from somebody saying, hey, these are on my desk. There are three concepts that have your name on them. We want to talk to you about these. And in the past eight weeks that's gone from noodling around ideas to potential producers. And like there's a time during the retirement where I'm like, holy crap, I might move to la. But again I've watched this happen with other people and there's a lot of

[Producer/Industry Insider]

excitement and momentum and then it slows

[TV Show Creator]

down, nothing goes anywhere.

[Friend/Supporter]

So you said three of the 10 are now being.

[TV Show Creator]

Three of the 10 are on someone's desk. And then what is. So then what has happened in the past three weeks or so is I'm flying out there and on Friday morning I'm sitting in a room at a television studio.

[Producer/Industry Insider]

Cool.

[TV Show Creator]

As the creator of these three concepts with producers and development people and writers and we're sitting around and we're just talking about the ideas

[Producer/Industry Insider]

and then are they reality? No, they're not reality at all. Are they sitcoms?

[TV Show Creator]

Yeah, they're real written. There was reality ones in the bunch, but they're real.

[Co-host]

Any based on radio?

[TV Show Creator]

Yeah, yeah.

[Producer/Industry Insider]

Awesome.

[Co-host]

So many characters in radio.

[TV Show Creator]

So how cool.

[Producer/Industry Insider]

I love that.

[TV Show Creator]

So they say. And then it only became real to me last week when they sent me and I should have brought it in. It is a 40 page thick confidentiality document.

[Friend/Supporter]

Wow.

[TV Show Creator]

It's now in a three ring binder

[Co-host]

which you obviously haven't signed yet.

[TV Show Creator]

No, I've signed it. I know exactly what I can say and not say, I hope. And so that's been signed and sent back. They pay you for signing that.

[Producer/Industry Insider]

Wow. Really?

[TV Show Creator]

Yep. So I have that, that's done. And then basically what happens is I sit in a meeting and they talk about it and we talk about it together.

[Friend/Supporter]

Cool.

[Co-host]

See if anything really.

[TV Show Creator]

And then if that happens, they could decide right there that they want to pursue the concept. Which means then they write me a check to buy the right to pursue the concept.

[Producer/Industry Insider]

That's awesome.

[TV Show Creator]

And that could happen Friday.

[Friend/Supporter]

All right, let's say best case scenario, they take an idea, they want to run with it, they buy the rights from you. Do you know the timeframe between that meeting and when it might ever show up?

[TV Show Creator]

Only because I have another friend who is pursuing a reality aspect of television and I mean his dragged out for 18 months and then nothing came of it. Wow.

[Co-host]

So they have the rights to it, but if something else comes in front of them before. Right.

[Friend/Supporter]

That's awesome.

[Producer/Industry Insider]

And I gotta say I'm sorry.

[Podcast Host]

Go ahead.

[Friend/Supporter]

No, I just to say I gotta, I'm. I'm hopeful. The fact that Hollywood actually picked, you know, written either sitcoms or dramas or what over the reality.

[TV Show Creator]

One of them is, one of them is a Hills esque. Like it's a drama based on a real situation that is that they're looking at.

[Producer/Industry Insider]

Very cool. And if they buy it from you, do you get to stay involved on the creative side?

[TV Show Creator]

Absolutely.

[Producer/Industry Insider]

Oh, that's even cooler.

[TV Show Creator]

And I can do it. And I can do it from Atlanta. Because then when they said you want to come out? I'm like, well, I got to let you know, I'm employed now. Like I can't leave Atlanta. I'm not going anywhere. And they're like, well that's fine. We can do, I mean all the Skype and everything you can do, writers meetings and all that stuff. And I'm like, bring it.

[Friend/Supporter]

Good for you for getting out of the song.

[Co-host]

If the show about radio actually makes it, you may have more people in here pissed at you than love you. Cause we'll be watching the show going, wait a minute.

[Friend/Supporter]

But you know what? We can't be because we'll go tell all our friends. Well, that was actually based on me.

[TV Show Creator]

I don't know if you knew that

[Friend/Supporter]

or not, but good for you, man.

[Co-host]

So you leave tomorrow.

[TV Show Creator]

So I'm leaving Wednesday. And then I have a meeting actually on Thursday that's completely related to that. And then on Friday, then Thursday night I fly into LA and Friday morning is the meetings and they said, I said what's the timeline? They're like well here's when you want to be here on Friday and I wouldn't make any plans Friday or Saturday. Awesome for you.

[Co-host]

Fantastic morning when it gets back out

[TV Show Creator]

Went here bird show.

[Advertiser Voice]

Hanging out at the pool is great. Relaxing and playing Vegas style games on my phone at the same time. Drink in one hand and a blackjack in the other. It's all at spinquest. Over a thousand games including your favorite slots and table games. Be cool with this summer special. New players get $30 coin packs for

[TV Show Creator]

[e-mail] SpinQuest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details. There's nothing like the American Express Platinum card. Find out your welcome offer after you apply, which could be as high as 175,000.

[Bluff]

Learn more and find out your [e-mail]

[Talkspace Representative]

Explore Platinum terms apply this podcast is sponsored by Talkspace.

[Guest Speaker]

Last year I went through many different life changes. I needed to take a pause and examine how I was feeling in the inside to better show up for the ones who need me to be my best version of myself.

[Talkspace Representative]

When you're navigating life's changes, Talkspace can help. Talkspace is the number one rated online therapy, bringing you professional support from licensed therapists and psychiatry providers that you can access anytime, anywhere.

[Guest Speaker]

Living a busy life, navigating a long distance relationship, becoming a first stepfather, Talkspace made all of those journeys possible. I could speak with my therapist in the office. I could speak of my therapist in the comfort of my home. I was never alone.

[Talkspace Representative]

Talkspace works with most major insurers and most insured members have a zero dollar copay. No insurance, no problem. Now get $80 off your first month with promo code space80 when you go to talkspace.com match with a licensed therapist today at talkspace.com save $80 with code [e-mail].