Wilton native Arnold Ross is now among the ranks of Daytime Emmy Award winners.

Ross is a line producer for “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” which won an Emmy for “Outstanding Daytime Talk Series ” in December 2023. The show has won 20 Emmy Awards.

Now living in Connecticut, Ross attended Academy Hill School in Wilton and both Mount Blue middle and high school in Farmington.

“After graduating in the Class of 2004, I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do in life, but I did know I wanted to see what the rest of the world had to offer outside of Maine,” he wrote in an email. “So, I packed my bags and moved to New York City to attend the College of Mount Saint Vincent, majoring in communications broadcasting and corporate.”

He got his start in television as an intern at “The Montel Williams Show” during its final season.

“As an intern you don’t get paid in dollars, but you do get paid with experience, which looks great on a resume. I graduated college during the 2008 recession and finding work wasn’t easy. So I worked a few part-time jobs as a bartender, volleyball coach and audience page at ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ until I finally landed a full-time production assistant gig at ‘The Nate Berkus Show’ in the summer of 2010.”

Then he became a production coordinator on Anderson Cooper’s daytime show for two years and followed up with a season at Bethenny Frankel’s talk show after that.

Then he made a big leap moving across the country to Los Angeles, where he was hired as the production manager at another daytime show called “The Real.” After eight seasons, he was promoted to line producer in the final season.

“When the show ended, I was at a bit of a crossroads of what my next move should be. I had a child on the way and wanted to move back East. I got a call from ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ and couldn’t pass on the offer, so I joined the show in Season 4. It turns out Kelly also was itching to leave Los Angeles and move East too. So she announced in January 2023 that the show was looking to move to (New York City),”  Ross wrote.

How did you decide to be a line producer? Growing up, I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I always had an itch to explore. Before the invention of the GPS, my friends and I would drive north on local roads just to see where it took us. As a high school student, I was active in different groups like the student government board, school plays, and the tennis team. I went to Costa Rica on an exchange trip, and Springfield, Massachusetts, for volleyball camps and those experiences really opened my eyes to different people and cultures, which made me want to see the world even more. So going to college in New York City was a no-brainer. The school’s brand-new communications building, radio equipment, cameras, and audio-visual gear intrigued me. I needed to get my hands on it. While all these new tech things were fun for me to play with, I realized that a career in television could be the direction I needed to go. And once I started on the road to production, I just kept climbing the ladder and here I am today.

Were you surprised when you won a Daytime Emmy Award? “The Kelly Clarkson Show” has won 20 Daytime Emmy Awards to date, including multiple for “Outstanding Talk Show.” It is always an honor to win; especially when the voters are your peers.

What do you like about the job? I enjoy planning and scheduling and that is mostly what the production team does. It is a lot of fun when a producer says “Hey, we would like the ‘Barbie’ cast to come out with a pink convertible. How can we do that?”

What are your responsibilities? Weekly I go over show budgets with my boss to ensure the shows are tracking correctly. Any permits such as having children, animals, cars, SFX on set I need to attain. Overseeing crew and (celebrity) payroll, production reports, purchase orders, contact lists, call sheets, etc.

Are you or were you in production for any other show? I have worked in production for “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” “The Real,” “Rupaul,” “Bethenny Frankel,” “Anderson Cooper Live,” “The Nate Berkus Show,” and “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire.” I have also shot a few pilots with Jennifer Garner, Jane Lynch, Suze Orman and Keke Palmer.

Do you enjoy working with your colleagues and Kelly? Yes, the show is great to work for. Everyone is always brainstorming creative ideas we can do on the show. It’s a collaborate effort. . . . There are hurdles when it comes to filming. No matter where you film it’s important for production to help ideas come to life. It’s our job to say, “Well, we can’t do that thing exactly, but if we tweak it just a little, we can make it happen!”

What do you do in your spare time for fun? When I’m not on set, I am with my wife (Faith) and 2-year-old (Levi) who will welcome another sibling this summer! Cool Dad Hack: I plan for his nap times at 1 p.m. so I can watch the Patriots on Sundays! I also enjoy going to minor league ballparks because they are a little more kid friendly than the big leagues.

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Mark LaFlamme: It’s a blanket! With sleeves!

Next »

From ‘Endless Love’ to ‘I Shot the Sheriff’: Area couples share the soundtracks of their lives