Bunim/Murray Productions, one of the most successful reality production studios of the last three decades, is launching its own podcast, Reality Bites Back, it was announced today by Bunim/Murray President Julie Pizzi.
The Banijay-owned studio behind such iconic reality series as The Real World, Road Rules, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, The Challenge and Emmy Award-winning series Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Girrrls, is set to pull back the curtain on the unscripted TV industry and give listeners a behind-the-scenes look into the development and production of many of today’s top unscripted shows.

Reality Bites Back is produced by the Steve Ezell, Bunim/Murray’s Senior Vice President of development and current programming and hosted by the studio’s Nicholette Dixon (Vice President, Development), Monique Berduo (Director, Development) and Nikki Cameron (Director, Development).

The weekly podcast launches September 23 and is available on all major outlets including Apple, Google and Spotify and is published by Buzzsprout. Bunim/Murray is also behind such current hit series as Miz and Mrs. (USA Network), Don’t Forget The Lyrics (FOX), Family or Fiancé (OWN) and Total Bellas (E!)

“As both insiders and consumers of the unscripted genre, we are in the unique position to tell the real stories behind the content we create,” says Pizzi. “There are dozens of podcasts focused on the franchises that we produce, and we recognize that we have the privilege of being in the front row of the stories as they unfold and actually know what really happens on screen and off. We are insiders telling stories from the inside. To that end, we have enlisted a dynamic trio of captivating personalities from within our development team who are eager to entertain and engage our audiences though our Reality Bites Back podcast.”

Ezell added, “As storytellers and creators, we have the pleasure of being able to watch stories unfold in real time. But, for every hour of television you see, there’s many more hours that don’t make air. It’s time for us to share what it takes to bring these stories to television through conversations with the people in front of and behind the camera on some of your favorite shows. Hosted by three executives from our own internal development team, Reality Bites Back will bring you inside the series in a way that only Bunim/Murray can.”

Ezell formally joined Bunim/Murray last year, after having served as an Executive Producer and Showrunner on multiple series for the company. Having initially joined BMP as an intern on The Real World in 2003, Ezell spent the first half of his career serving as director of photography for more than 30 different projects across a variety of networks and production companies.

Dixon, who joined Bunim/Murray earlier this year as Vice President of Development, was previously Vice President of Development at GRB Studios. At GRB Studios, Dixon worked on the A&E series Digital Additiction. Prior to that role, Dixon was on the development team at Electus (now Propagate), where she worked on such series as CNBC’s Cash Pad and FYI’s Working the Room.

Berduo, who joined Bunim/Murray as Director of Development earlier this year, previously worked in development for several ITV America-owned studios, most recently Sirens Media. During her time at Sirens Media, Berduo helped develop such series as Honestly Loren for Snapchat, Lost Resort for TBS, Nikita Unfiltered for Snapchat and The Wedding Coach for Netflix. Before Sirens Media, Berduo was on the development teams for ITV Entertainment and Gurney Productions.

Cameron, who was named Director of Development earlier this summer, previously worked in production and operations at NBCUniversal’s Bravo, E! and Oxygen networks. During her time at NBCUniversal, Cameron worked on such series as The Real Housewives franchise, Summer House, Total Bellas and Botched. She began her career in Entertainment PR, working with TV & film clients such as WEtv, Universal Pictures, Lionsgate, Fox News and MSNBC.

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Deadline: Bunim/Murray Launches ‘Reality Bites Back’ Podcast About Unscripted TV Industry