Also working with Conroy on the new show are two other Miami alumni, associate producer Grace Dahlman and field associate producer Nathan Hengstebeck, both from the class of 2016. All three studied at Miami’s Department of Media, Journalism & Film.
“The eight-part series is an honest tale of risk, reward, hard work and innovation, centered on the lives of five family farms across America,” according to a History Channel description of the series that was shot on location throughout the country.
According to the channel, the program presents “an up-close look at one full year of family farming, told through an unprecedented year on the ground, capturing breathtaking visuals, private moments and personal interviews.”
Dahlman said they’ve been working on the series for about two years and are excited for it to be airing on the History Channel.
“Miami still holds a dear place in all of our hearts — Jeff taught a class at Miami a few years back and we are all heavily involved in the Inside Hollywood program,” she said.
Inside Hollywood is a Miami workshop in Los Angeles that gives students who are passionate about media an intimate look at Hollywood careers.
Conroy, who majored in communication and theatre, taught a Miami hybrid course (part online and part in-person) on producing reality television programming.
Bruce Drushel, chair of the Media, Journalism and Film department, said TV viewers nationwide can’t hit a channel on their remotes “without watching the work of a Miami alum, whether they’re in front of or behind the camera.”
“Ally Seibert, who is a writer for ‘Chicago Fire,’ ‘Hawaii Five-O,’ and ‘The Rookie,’” said Drushel.
“And alumnus Chris Molnar is a post-production editor for ‘NCIS-LA,’ in addition to other TV contributions. On talk shows, Miami grads have contributed to ‘Oprah,’ Chad Wollett is co-producer of ‘The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon’ and Laura Palmer works on the ‘Jimmy Kimmel Show,’” he said.
“Miami grads work in national news at CNN, HLN, ESPN and FOX News. Alum Charlie Yook was recently named VP of NFL Network. Chris Rose works for the NFL and MLB Networks,” said Drushel.
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