Chris DeRosa & Dominick Pupa

Chris DeRosa is a television producer who has worked on shows like Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New York, The Real Housewives of New Jersey, and Summer House, Netflix’s My Unorthodox Life and Snack Vs. Chef, MAX’s The Big Shot with Bethenny and Bake It ’Til You Make It, Peacock’s The Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip, and Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay. He has a passion for storytelling in all its forms and loves consuming well-crafted content of just about any genre. He lives in Hoboken, NJ, and can be found at @thechrisderosa.

Dominick Pupa has served as Executive Producer or Producer or some of the biggest hits of the reality age including Bravo’s Real Housewives of Atlanta, Real Housewives of New York and Don’t Be Tardy, TLC’s Long Island Medium and I Love a Mama’s Boy, ABC’s Wife Swap and several shows in the Bachelor universe. He’s also a comedian and song parodist best known for his NYC Pride shows and his annual holiday show, Dom We Now Our Gay Apparel, which travels the country. He lives in New York and can be found at dommentary.com and @dominickpupa. 

Chris and Dominick are the co-hosts of Fixing Famous People. Follow the show on Instagram. here.

Describe Fixing Famous People in 10 words or less.
CD: That conversation you have with friends about celebrity scandal

DP: Two raspy queens talking shit about the misery that is fame. 

What’s the structure of the show? What can people expect from an episode?
CD: Each episode Dominick, I, and a hilarious guest unpack our “client” for the week, who is a celebrity who has found themselves embroiled in tabloid scandal. (Examples include Harry & Meghan, Mindy Kaling, Ariana Grande, and Ellen Degeneres.) Once we recap why they’re being vilified in the public eye, Dominick and I take turns pitching our ideas of what we think they should do to get back into the good graces of society. At the end of the episode, the guest decides whose pitch is the winner, and we send the idea to our celebrity client.

Does your advice for fixing famous people usually boil down to one or two common things?
CD: I feel like doing a reality show is always an option for basically anyone, but we both try to not lean on that too much. I’ve pitched streaming platforms, 1-on-1 interviews with Oprah, and Political Campaign strategies already.

DP: I take big, seemingly-ridiculous swings that appear viable after some discussion. That said, a lot of times those swings involve reality shows.

Fill in the blank: You will like Fixing Famous People if you like ______.
CD: Celebrity Tabloid Gossip Through An Insider’s Lens.

DP: Graham Norton, 30 Rock, RuPaul’s Drag Race and Succession. Equally.

Do you have any rules for who you will/not cover? Are children and animals safe?
CD: There are no official rules, but we discuss a lot where the line is. For example, a lot of people tell me on instagram that I should fix JK Rowling or Armie Hammer. I have zero desire to try and make up a redemption arc for either of these people. But did we record a Hilaria Baldwin episode? We sure did. It’s a fine line, and we don’t dismiss people’s transgressions, but how can I not talk about the infamous “cucumber” debacle on my podcast about celebrities entrenched in scandal?!?!

DP: I go with my gut when we’re discussing who to cover. If it feels more cringe than fun, it’s a no. George Santos is a monster made of garbage, but we jumped at the chance to discuss him. But when someone suggested Amanda Bynes we both said nah. We punch - pardon me, I meant “advise” - laterally here.

What makes you the perfect host for this show?
CD: I think coming from the jobs that we do, we know the power that the press, social media, and a good party line have on the general public. People with horrendous pasts are now beloved actors, TV hosts, and musicians. We work on shows where one season a person is the hero, the next season they’re the villain, and the 3rd season they’re the hero again, so we’ve seen this cycle perpetuate over and over again, often because we’ve had a hand in making it happen. We know the book of tricks because we’ve created it, and nothing gets past us.

DP: I’m a Reality TV Producer and a comic. I’ve been a manufacturer and an immersed critic of pop culture forever. People rise, people fall, some don’t get up. Being a witness to their journeys has given me a lot of insight, and most lessons I learn from famous people are what NOT to do.

How are you and Dominick similar/different? What do you each bring to the table?
CD: We’re both similar in the sense that we come from the same industry. We’ve both dealt with infamously difficult talent, had to go up against them on set (and win), and always be 5 steps ahead of everyone else in order to stay on schedule. We are from two different generations, so while he can speak to Madonna, I can speak to Britney Spears. I’m pretty good at impressions and talking about culture, while Dom does standup, so he can turn just about any comment into a joke. When it comes to producing the podcast, I think I’m a bit more plugged into the podcast world and know who would make funny guests, and Dom is a master at giving good edit notes. He takes 1h30m of content and cuts it down to a tight 45m-50m episode. He’s yet to be wrong.

DP: What Chris said, although when he hears what I have to say about Britney we’ll probably have a slapfight. As a creative team, even though we’re from different generations we somehow find joy and disdain in the same things. But we differ in surprising and important areas, like ranking the best dressed at the Met Gala. When it comes to running a podcast, Chris is a master at big picture (the podcast and format were his idea) and my strengths lie in the details, pulling time and keeping shit moving. 3 decades of network notes will make a person almost robotic about it. Keep it tight, keep it right, make sure we’re laughing no matter how serious. Life is timing, even in a podcast. 

If you were going to make a podcast with one of the stars you’ve worked with, who would it be and what would the podcast be?
DP: A cast member from a Bravo show I EP’d called Blood, Sweat & Heels. Her name is Demetria Lucas and she’s an insanely talented author/blogger/screenwriter and just all around cool individual. The podcast would just be us talking shit and cutting up. Like this one is!

Why did you decide to go the podcast route for Fixing Famous People?
CD: Podcasts are achievable and relatively low-cost to make. Dom and I both come from television, where just turning the cameras and lights on for 12 hours costs more than I make in a month. Podcasting is one of the only mediums where my creation can be next to that of a celebrity’s that has the backing of a major network. You can’t find that in the theaters and you can’t find it at home on the streaming platforms.

DP: A podcast is the easiest way to become a part of someone’s routine. Moreso than than anything visual. You’re with these people when they need company. At the gym, on a run, in the car, as they’re falling asleep.

How did the idea come to you?
CD: I was on Kate Casey’s show Reality Life with Kate Casey and we were discussing the Harry and Meghan docuseries on Netflix. I said something like “If I just had 15 minutes in a room with Meghan she’d be running the country.” The next day I was talking to Kate about wanting to start a new podcast, and she parroted the words back to me. “You already have your idea, you had it on my show.” she said, and the wheels started turning from there.

Did the name of it emerge immediately or did it take some brainstorming sessions?
CD: It was the obvious answer and we kept trying to top it, but many people gave us the advice to just let the title explain the show for us. We couldn’t think of a more clever way to do that, and I’m not sure there is one.

DP: No brainstorming needed. What the podcast is actually about happened to be the catchiest turn of phrase.

Pretend you were going to make another podcast. Don’t worry about the logistics or whether or not anyone would like it. Your budget is $1M. What would it be?
CD: My serious answer would be to make an investigative podcast about the polarization of America and all of the causes. My fun answer is a podcast where I interview A-list celebrities about why they like The Real Housewives.

DP: Each week, I would have a major celebrity who has never heard of me interview ME. This would feed my narcissism while also featuring well-known people in a different light.

Do you listen to podcasts?
CD: Yes, too many of them. And yet not enough?

DP: Only a handful.

Are there too many podcasts?
CD: As much as I with every cell in my body want to say yes, I don’t think there will ever be too many podcasts. Something that we gained by having so many (too many) streaming services is that we can have niche content from storytellers that aren’t marketable to Middle America. A story no longer has to appeal to everyone, it just has to appeal to someone. Now, as much as that doesn’t always translate to monetary success for networks, there’s something really amazing about the fact that my friend and I can record something over the internet and people who enjoy it can have it once a week. I don’t have to try to grab every pair of ears from every walk of life in order to exist, and I don’t have to fight a gatekeeper to allow me to do the thing I want to do. I do that quite literally every day in my day job.

DP: There can’t be too many of anything. Except guns.

Hot take:
CD: Tom and Raquel are just par for the course on Vanderpump Rules. I don’t know why this scandal has gripped America in such an insane way.

DP: I think “Bravo” should be its own gender.

Self-care tip:
CD: Invest in good bedding and good towels.

DP: Magnesium, ginger, turmeric. Get them into your life.

Anything I didn’t ask you about that you want to say?
DP: Just that I love you.

Thanks, Chris and Dominick!