People To Meet: Jersey Shore’s SallyAnn Salsano

SallyAnn Salsano, Creator, Jersey Shore
President, 495 Productions

SallyAnn Salsano comes to NATPE as one of the hottest names in the reality business. Creator of the year’s biggest break out unscripted series Jersey Shore, Salsano understands what it takes to have a hit show.

However, she has also worked her way up in the business, having interned on The Howard Stern Show and Sally Jesse Raphael’s daytime talkshow. “We’ve been doing this for five years. People who wouldn’t talk to me six months ago will certainly pick up the phone to me now and I love that,” she tells TBI.

Salsano, who is founder and president of 495 Productions and is talking at the NATPE panel ‘The State of Reality’, is also working on a number of new series including Party Down South and Boston-based Wicked Summer as well as a raft of wedding series.

Jersey Shore also shows no sign of slowing down; the third season launched at the start of January to record ratings and cast member Paul “Pauly D” DelVecchio received his own spin-off series. This comes as MTV strikes its first international format deal for Jersey Shore; sister network MTV UK is launching Geordie Shore, following a group of guys and girls from Newcastle, produced by Hollyoaks producer Lime Pictures.

Salsano also brings her latest series with her to NATPE; Lionsgate-distributed reality series Nail Files that she is producing for US cable network TV Land.