Candi Carter has a long career producing some of daytime’s most popular shows, including 15 years on Oprah Winfrey and five on The View. In March, she was named executive producer of ABC’s Tamron Hall and started her new job just as the pandemic got underway. As a result, she spent her first six months on the job producing the show remotely and just met most of her staff in the past couple of weeks.
Carter is used to managing big talent and celebrity guests, so she’s highly qualified for the job at Tamron Hall, which made a splash in its Sept. 14 season-two debut with an exclusive interview with former Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate
Andrew Gillum, who broke news when he said he is bisexual. Carter’s got more of the same in store this season, she says in the following conversation with B+C contributor Paige Albiniak.
Where are you guys now in terms of pandemic production? We’re halfway back in the studio. It was really challenging to produce the show from Tamron’s house on an iPad and iPhone — we were literally working around the clock. Now we’ve brought back the minimum amount of people to operate what we need to be in the studio. We are like the NBA: We have created our own bubble.
What lessons did you take from producing remotely that you are still applying to producing the show? Every little thing matters when you are producing remotely. The things you would normally take for granted, you now have to pay attention to. We just figured out that we have eight Skype channels so we can bring a producer on set remotely.
What are you binge-watching? Showtime’s The Chi — it's the new Wire. Also The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Power Book II: Ghost, This Is Us, I May Destroy You and P-Valley.
All-time favorite TV shows? Good Times, The Brady Bunch, The White Shadow, Entourage, The Wire.
Bucket-list travel destination? Singapore; Qatar, to visit my best friend; Cyprus; many countries in Africa.
Where did you eat your last great meal? David Burke Orange Lawn in South Orange, N.J. for my 22nd wedding anniversary. Outdoor COVID dining — delicious!
Favorite podcast? Oprah's SuperSoul Conversations
You guys just secured a second run on OWN, how did that come about? We went to OWN and said we would love to do this partnership. I think it makes sense because Tamron Hall is a show that connects to OWN’s audience [of African-American women aged 25 to 54]. It’s a fantastic opportunity for us and I think it’s a great thing for the show to have a larger footprint.
What do you think the biggest thing you bring to the show is?I think the biggest thing I bring to the show is storytelling. What you are going to see now is it’s all about the multilayered story. Andrew Gillum is a very political story but it will also feel like a very human story. This is Tamron’s sweet spot — she’s a journalist and she’s … very curious about people.
How would you say Tamron Hall fits into the current daytime landscape? I think we’re in a lane that’s unique right now. We’re telling real people’s stories and doing a combination of cooking, lifestyle, fashion and other features. We’ll have big interviews and a little bit of lifestyle, telling real people’s stories and having fun.
One of the things I am really excited about is all of the women who are running this show. It’s me, Tamron, the director, co-executive producer, executive in charge and the head of public relations. We’re literally the women running the show.
