Cassie Friedman describes her producing style as hands-on and hungry. If something needs to get done, she jumps right in. The Development Producer became one of the best in her home country of Canada, working for some of the country’s largest broadcasters and on popular news programs. Despite such success, she remains humble, knowing that you can’t achieve greatness without the help of others.

“I’m big on collaborating. As nice as it would be to have a huge vision and execute all the pieces yourself, that’s not realistic and would probably grow isolating after a while. The fun of producing is working with great teams, so I love helping my co-workers with their tasks or projects and vice versa. I’m very lucky that I’ve only worked in environments where my co-workers have been more supportive and collaborative than competitive with one another,” said Friedman.

Now, Friedman has taken her talents abroad, working with the independent production company Studio Lambert, based in Los Angeles and London. She has worked as Manager of Development at Studio Lambert for over a year, greatly contributing to the acclaim of several television shows, such as Second Wives Club on E!, Growing Up Evancho on TLC and seasons 8 & 9 of Undercover Boss on CBS. She has worked for projects on even more major networks with the production company, such as FOX, ABC, NBC, LIFETIME, and A&E.   

“Cassie is an extreme asset to the company.  She has an incredible eye for talent as well having the intellect to develop shows,” said Rich Leist, Supervising Casting Producer at All3Media America. “Cassie is phenomenal at her job and has the best attitude. It is a pleasure to work with her because she is creative, hits deadlines, and has an excellent understanding of the television industry. Cassie has many quality skills that make her an asset to the company. She can find talent, edit, create pitch documents and sell a concept. Cassie is a one stop shop for us.”

While working on various shows, Friedman has impressed many of her colleagues at Studio Lambert. She takes on many tasks, from development to casting. She also works on many network-funded and internal development projects for the company, including writing, producing and editing sizzle reels, heading up casting, writing and producing detailed decks, producing and developing segments for shows, and field producing for various TV projects. While taking on so much responsibility, Friedman is still loving what she does.

“I am extremely lucky to work at Studio Lambert. Some days, as I’m driving to work, I check-in and smile because I am doing what I set out to do – working in television in Los Angeles. My work consists of many different roles on various projects. In the morning, I could be casting therapists to host a family show and in the afternoon, I could be scanning evidence binders for a true crime show,” she said. “What I love about working at Studio Lambert is the drive of everyone I’m surrounded by. Our team, along with the teams at All3Media America, our parent company, is always driven to do our best work. And the next best part is seeing something you worked on air across the continent, that story you’re telling making its way into people’s homes and starting a conversation.”

Friedman is incredibly versatile, with a wide range of talents beyond simply producing. This immediately impressed with Vice President and President of Studio Lambert during their first meeting. Friedman’s experience in television, writing and on digital projects was extremely comprehensive at just 27-years-old. She had produced live TV for more than two years, but had also spent time working in the start-up world in Silicon Beach. Her ambition was highly-regarded.

“Studio Lambert has a fantastic history. The original production company dates back to the 1950s, as a successful UK production company. Being from Canada, with close ties to family friends back in the UK, I always felt connected to that part of the world. So, on top of the current Studio Lambert being an extremely successful, Emmy-winning production company, with unbelievably talented producers leading it, I also appreciated the company’s history. It felt like a team and family I wanted to be a part of from day one,” said Friedman.

On an average week, Friedman touches at least five to ten different projects, all in different stages of development. This could be anything from research, outreach for a potential show idea, meeting with artists and creators, casting, producing decks or sizzle reels, producing pilots, development notes for shows in production. Friedman’s high level of organization is essential to such a workload, and she meets the challenge easily.

She works closely with her team, not making a major decision without consulting her coworkers to make sure it will work for everyone. She values their opinions, and also uses her knowledge in the industry to make decisions on her own that will benefit everyone. This was exemplified when she wrote and designed the pitch deck for the company’s show Growing Up Evancho, which aired on TLC just last month. She designed the deck specifically for TLC, getting ideas by looking at the posters for the network’s current shows. She did the same thing for Second Wives Club on E!.

Working in development, Friedman is often one of the first people to touch a project. “It’s so thrilling, because every project has the potential to become a major hit. Pitching, researching and casting sets the tone of the show for the network. We set things up so the next team can hit the ground running into pre-production and production,” she said.

Friedman also enjoys meeting all sorts of people while she is working, not just those in her industry, but those in her stories all over the world. There was one instance at Studio Lambert when she was casting a show with youth sports coaches around America. She dove into that world, infiltrating sports-parents Facebook groups and connecting with that community. She got to call and Skype with coaches all over the country, hearing about their lives, jobs, etc. This passion for what she does keeps her going every day.

“It is so cool learning about worlds I know nothing about. And that happens all the time as a producer. You dive deep into new environments. No day is the same. No project is the same. That is one of my favorite parts of my job” she concluded.