Conversations with Dave Goldberg

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave Goldberg.

Hi Dave, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve loved television ever since I was a little kid growing up in the 1970’s. Hours would fly by like seconds with my good friends Marsha and Greg, Lucy and Ricky, Batman and Robin… My dream, at 13, was to get a job working for David Letterman. I remember writing him a letter – never sent – offering to take out his trash just to get a chance to be part of that hilarious show where he took pleasure in breaking every rule of traditional TV.

It was during my sophomore year at Skidmore College – a great school for dancers, polo players, surrealistic painters and business majors, but not TV enthusiasts – where I met Steven Rosenbaum who ran a small, super-creative production company that produced a weekly news magazine syndicated on all of the NBC owned stations in New York. This was not your typical coffee-wrangling internship. My first night there I was sent with a team to interview a stripper and spent most of the evening consoling her crying husband. A week later I was in the South Bronx following Curtis Sliwa (now a mayoral candidate for New York City) as he and the Guardian Angels busted crack houses filled junkies and dealers not particularly happy that we were taking their drugs and money. Within a few months, I was producing my own segments for the show.

After graduation I moved to Manhattan and took a job working in the mailroom and as a Production Assistant for Comedy Central. It was fun to work with comedians and they did have a huge file cabinet filled with Nestle Crunch and Kit Kats, but I quickly realized it would take years before I got a shot producing there. It wasn’t long before Steve moved his company to New York City and I worked for him as his Creative Director, creating and producing unscripted shows for networks including A&E, Animal Planet, Discovery and VH1.

In 2005 I formed my own production company, Killer Bunny Entertainment, and have been lucky enough to work with some of the most talented people on the planet including Robert Cea, a retired NYPD detective and best-selling author who has written scripted series for NBC, Jerry Bruckheimer, A24 and is working on his next true crime novel and TV series. Over the years we’ve produced programs for TruTV, Discovery, Lifetime, Oxygen and have shot nearly 200 hours of stand up comedy for networks including AXS TV and Showtime. These shows have featured legendary comics including Cheech & Chong, Cedric the Entertainer, Norm Macdonald, Fran Drescher, Pamela Anderson and the television debuts of comedians like Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Taylor Tomlinson and many more.

The best move I ever made was moving to Nashville in the summer of 2021. We’ve shot a ton of comedy at Zanies and The Ryman and have partnered with truly extraordinary producers, comedians and country music stars on new projects that will premiere in 2026.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’ve loved television ever since I was a little kid growing up in the 1970’s. Hours would fly by like seconds with my good friends Marsha and Greg, Lucy and Ricky, Batman and Robin… My dream, at 13, was to get a job working for David Letterman. I remember writing him a letter – never sent – offering to take out his trash just to get a chance to be part of that hilarious show where he took pleasure in breaking every rule of traditional TV.

It was during my sophomore year at Skidmore College – a great school for dancers, polo players, surrealistic painters and business majors, but not TV enthusiasts – where I met Steven Rosenbaum who ran a small, super-creative production company that produced a weekly news magazine syndicated on all of the NBC owned stations in New York. This was not your typical coffee-wrangling internship. My first night there I was sent with a team to interview a stripper and spent most of the evening consoling her crying husband. A week later I was in the South Bronx following Curtis Sliwa (now a mayoral candidate for New York City) as he and the Guardian Angels busted crack houses filled junkies and dealers not particularly happy that we were taking their drugs and money. Within a few months, I was producing my own segments for the show.

After graduation I moved to Manhattan and took a job working in the mailroom and as a Production Assistant for Comedy Central. It was fun to work with comedians and they did have a huge file cabinet filled with Nestle Crunch and Kit Kats, but I quickly realized it would take years before I got a shot producing there. It wasn’t long before Steve moved his company to New York City and I worked for him as his Creative Director, creating and producing unscripted shows for networks including A&E, Animal Planet, Discovery and VH1.

In 2005 I formed my own production company, Killer Bunny Entertainment, and have been lucky enough to work with some of the most talented people on the planet including Robert Cea, a retired NYPD detective and best-selling author who has written scripted series for NBC, Jerry Bruckheimer, A24 and is working on his next true crime novel and TV series. Over the years we’ve produced programs for TruTV, Discovery, Lifetime, Oxygen and have shot nearly 200 hours of stand up comedy for networks including AXS TV and Showtime. These shows have featured legendary comics including Cheech & Chong, Cedric the Entertainer, Norm Macdonald, Fran Drescher, Pamela Anderson and the television debuts of comedians like Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Taylor Tomlinson and many more.

The best move I ever made was moving to Nashville in the summer of 2021. We’ve shot a ton of comedy at Zanies, The Ryman and have partnered with truly extraordinary producers, comedians and country music stars on new projects that will premiere in 2026.

 
The TV industry is anything but smooth! We came out of the gate swinging with a hit series for Court TV and some very funny web-based shows sponsored by companies including Honda, M&M Mars and Motorola. We were a hot, young, new company building a kick-ass track record in true crime, reality and comedy. But networks can change their mandates (even their entire direction) without warning in the blink of an eye and we’ve experienced that a number of times. Shows we thought would go for 5 or 6 seasons were canceled after one. Pilots we were certain would become long-running series never made it past the first episode. It was never about the quality or the ratings; it was simply a matter of a network undergoing a major shift – firing their staff, slashing their budgets, looking for an entirely new audience.

Take a look at what’s been happening the past two years. Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, ABC Disney and Netflix have laid off thousands of employees – many of whom are friends of mine, many of whom used to buy our shows. There are many people without jobs and many production companies struggling because the networks just aren’t buying the way they used to. What they are buying are “safe” bets: shows that feature big name celebrities or shows and movies that have been hit franchises for years. Reboots of classic series and remakes of well-known feature films have become the norm. It’s rare to find a network or a brave executive willing to take a risk on something new and innovative.

That being said, I see a bright future ahead. While we are developing shows that fit a variety of networks’ mandates, we continue to create and develop projects that we love in comedy, true crime, music and in genres that are new to us like horror. Instead of just doing everything on our own, we’re partnering with some brilliantly talented producers, shooters, editors, writers and musicians that have ideas they want to bring to life. I’m always looking for inspired and creative people that are optimistic, enthusiastic and passionate.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I have over a dozen projects in various stages of development. Two, in particular, are my passion projects that I cannot wait to share.

The first is a feature length documentary about legendary country music star Whisperin’ Bill Anderson. He’s the most recorded singer/songwriter in country music history, the longest running member of the Grand Ole Opry and, hands down, the best storyteller I’ve ever met. At 87 he’s still performing multiple times a month at the Opry and is still writing and recording songs with major artists including Brad Paisley, Trisha Yearwood, ERNEST to name a few. We’ve shot amazing scenes and interviews with Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Carrie Underwood, Lainey Wilson, The Oakridge Boys and so many others to come.

Bill Anderson Documentary Sizzle Reel:
https://vimeo.com/767518121/b859a985e0

I’m also about to begin production on an extraordinary music series called “Soul Sound”, a premium documentary series that brings attention to noteworthy charities through the power of music with A-List artists in pop, rock and country.

The show was created by Nashville-based singer/songwriter, Alexa Shea. Alexa wrote her first song at 8 and was signed by Warner-Chappell at 10 becoming the youngest songwriter – along with Michael Jackson – to be under contract with a major publishing company.

The big idea: we meet a charity founder with an incredible life story that led them to making a significant difference in the world and pair them up with Grammy award winning songwriters to help express their story through music. Then we get an A-List artist to perform the song.

We’ve already signed on songwriters and producers that have written #1 hits for artists including Taylor Swift, J.Lo, Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Blake Shelton and many other stars. And we’ve got over 15 major charities and foundations on board. I know it’s going to be a tremendous hit.

Soul Sound Sizzle Reel:
https://vimeo.com/1051644458/94973d56a9?

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I think Young Frankenstein is the greatest film of all time. I’m also a huge fan of high school movies…. possibly because my high school experience was pretty meh. Any high school movie, any era. doesn’t matter. Mean Girls may be the best of them all. So there, I said it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://killer-bunny.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dave.goldberg.18
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-goldberg-2a33402/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KillerBunnyEnt