How reality TV shows cast the right people

How reality TV shows cast the right people

How do you find the perfect person for a reality show? We spoke to the casting director for Queer Eye (and a ton of other shows) to find out.

Danielle Gervais is the Emmy-winning casting director for Netflix’s Queer Eye (and she and her team are nominated this year as well). In addition to the hit series, she’s cast everything from Pawn Stars to Wife Swap.

Vox’s Phil Edwards spoke to her about what it takes to find the right people at the center of each episode: the “heroes” that the show’s core cast give a makeover (or, in Danielle’s words, a “make better”).

It’s not just her and her team sitting in an audition room. After hashing out story themes and location for the new season, they’ll hit the ground in their new setting (in normal circumstances) and try to find the perfect people to feature on the show. Extensive interviews and background checks help finish the project — and the result of all that hard work is an hour of seamless entertainment, with a perfect star at the center.

Check out Danielle’s IMDb page here:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3896030/

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50 Comments

  1. Dietterich Labs on February 28, 2021 at 11:59 pm

    I wish reality shows could actually be real



  2. Jacob Navarro on February 28, 2021 at 11:59 pm

    I thought I saw Critical in the thumbnail



  3. oilhaze on March 1, 2021 at 12:00 am

    “Droopy-mustache.jpg” 😂



  4. SpectacleDifficulty on March 1, 2021 at 12:00 am

    please make her stop saying "hero"



  5. Sophie Weiner on March 1, 2021 at 12:01 am

    Honestly I wish this covered the trashy side of reality TV, which this casting agent has done as well.



  6. PeachFuzz on March 1, 2021 at 12:02 am

    Who ever edits these videos needs a raise



  7. Nils Klinger on March 1, 2021 at 12:03 am

    This episode was extremly strangely edited.



  8. Yusuf Tamanna on March 1, 2021 at 12:03 am

    The editing on this was top notch!



  9. Luke The Nameless on March 1, 2021 at 12:04 am

    what is a french tuck gif?



  10. 6lue The Knowledge Century on March 1, 2021 at 12:04 am

    omg are we related im a gervais too ><



  11. asergfadffasdf on March 1, 2021 at 12:06 am

    can’t believe she wanted to root kenny



  12. Whistling Banshee on March 1, 2021 at 12:08 am

    I was on one of these reality shows. They really do ask a lot of questions. And theyre so aggressively friendly, you can’t help but open up to them.



  13. Viking Walrus on March 1, 2021 at 12:10 am

    I am so tired of production value that Vox tries to cram in to these videos. Just do people talking please, 10x better.



  14. Thais Gregorio on March 1, 2021 at 12:11 am

    I LOVED WIFE SWAP AS A KID HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA



  15. Info on March 1, 2021 at 12:13 am

    3 Tips for The Choosing The right Dog

    @eUEY



  16. Joy Shi on March 1, 2021 at 12:14 am

    this was so interesting



  17. Ryan Whelan on March 1, 2021 at 12:15 am

    A solid reminder why I don’t waste time watching reality TV!



  18. Vel A on March 1, 2021 at 12:17 am

    Hmm… I thought there were only 3 ways. Sleep with someone, Know people, or the odd one something called "Talent".



  19. hugolena111 on March 1, 2021 at 12:17 am

    Sounds like a very fun job



  20. c.daniel Premkumar on March 1, 2021 at 12:18 am

    How much do I have to pay ?



  21. Joe Breakwell on March 1, 2021 at 12:20 am

    I didn’t subscribe for this content.



  22. Bexx Chin on March 1, 2021 at 12:23 am

    Super awesome to learn about the production side of reality shows!!! I always wonder about casting specifically, thanks for this!!



  23. Elizette Joys Monsale on March 1, 2021 at 12:23 am

    May I ask what is the show all about? I am not sure if I want to watch it. 😂😂🤧



  24. Anu Anshad on March 1, 2021 at 12:25 am

    So many no need talks. And many cuts ehich are not really need. You should have minimized the time by erasing those.



  25. Surfer Rosa on March 1, 2021 at 12:29 am

    I thought they just choose the craziest people from the casting



  26. Suhana Sinha on March 1, 2021 at 12:29 am

    How do I get involved in this line of work?



  27. Obi-wan CanBoneMe on March 1, 2021 at 12:31 am

    Idk guys… these days I just dont feel like continuing your videos
    Have you changed your format in any way? I have been a subscriber since yall were at 600k and I have endorsed your channel to all my friends
    But these days I dont feel like even clicking on the video after seeing the heading in the notification and if i do click it, the first few seconds turn me away from the video.
    Just letting you know cuz I’m still a loyal subscriber who wants you to grow as much as possible cuz you deserve it



  28. HC Media on March 1, 2021 at 12:32 am

    how to cast reality tv shows: be white



  29. Marchela Pocopio on March 1, 2021 at 12:33 am

    Woohoo the MCU is bad thumbnail editor is back



  30. SameOldJames on March 1, 2021 at 12:35 am

    Reminds me of Charlie’s thanksgiving dinner. 2:03



  31. Izzy on March 1, 2021 at 12:36 am

    *_can we all just ignore the entire video content for a moment and appreciate how amazing the bg music is? where can i get access to such music vox? i dont care if its not free, ill save up n buy it_*



  32. Oluwabori Atunwa on March 1, 2021 at 12:37 am

    This video is well done. Love it!



  33. DavidOm 0221 on March 1, 2021 at 12:38 am

    JVN cracks me up omg 😂



  34. somebody you know on March 1, 2021 at 12:40 am

    They pick people that barely pass psych evaluations because they know it will cause drama.



  35. Manjunatha Prabhu on March 1, 2021 at 12:41 am

    They have Shakespeare’s level of skills to trick people



  36. Osman Koboi on March 1, 2021 at 12:43 am

    Vox, honestly you need step up your sound mix game



  37. Patrick on March 1, 2021 at 12:45 am

    Can you please allow Johnny to use the Borders 3 footage if you guys aren’t going to release it?



  38. Apoorva S on March 1, 2021 at 12:45 am

    Someone give that editor a raise



  39. Shan Bell on March 1, 2021 at 12:46 am

    yass.png omfg



  40. E D on March 1, 2021 at 12:47 am

    This is how they do it, they get a bunch of blue eyed white guys but then they say we need more diversity and thats how they do it



  41. Eu, a Rainha e 3 princesas. on March 1, 2021 at 12:48 am

    ok



  42. Mini Dom on March 1, 2021 at 12:50 am

    Am I the only one that would be an actor



  43. Katia on March 1, 2021 at 12:52 am

    Very creative editing for the restrictions of Covid. You don’t even notice the lack of "on-location" shooting.



  44. Javier Escuella on March 1, 2021 at 12:53 am

    Does anyone know what did they use for editing ?



  45. Marcos R on March 1, 2021 at 12:55 am

    Anyone knows the song that starts at 7:07?



  46. Eric Clapton’s Robot Pilot on March 1, 2021 at 12:55 am

    We want to see the new season of Borders. We don’t care if it’s “out of touch”. Most of us can handle it, as we aren’t snowflakes bound by current events. By not showing us you are essentially talking down to your biggest fans. Calling your viewers fragile is an insult.



  47. MrDragonArt on March 1, 2021 at 12:57 am

    Background song?



  48. Thanh Mai on March 1, 2021 at 12:58 am

    is ur computer a macbook pro or air?



  49. Steppawolf on March 1, 2021 at 12:58 am

    When the lady says they will often do a 10 year sweep of a potential contestant’s social media, do these companies have access to deleted posts and things like that? Like can they get in touch with Facebook/Instagram or Twitter and the like and get access to everything someone has ever posted? I know social media companies keep a lot of info on users and even though from the public perspective your posts are deleted I’m assuming something is kept on the backend…?



  50. Connerd13 on March 1, 2021 at 12:59 am

    1:15 Kansas city lol