{"id":11516,"date":"2018-08-15T10:11:02","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T14:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-nightwatch-nation\/"},"modified":"2018-08-16T09:38:00","modified_gmt":"2018-08-16T13:38:00","slug":"44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-on-nightwatch-nation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-on-nightwatch-nation\/","title":{"rendered":"44 Blue Productions’ Rasha Drachkovitch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rasha Drachkovitch, the CEO and co-founder of 44 Blue Productions, tells <\/em>TV Real about the new series <\/em>Nightwatch Nation and discusses the company\u2019s expansive slate, which runs the gamut from crime to celeb-reality and everything in between.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dick Wolf\u2019s Chicago<\/em> franchise on NBC has proven that audiences can\u2019t seem to get enough of stories about first responders, from firefighters to cops to emergency room doctors. Looking to replicate that allure in the unscripted space, the hit producer teamed up with 44 Blue Productions, a Red Arrow Studios-owned outfit, on Nightwatch<\/em>. Commissioned by A&E, the show chronicled emergency responders, first in New Orleans, Louisiana, and then in Tampa, Florida. This week, A&E is set to premiere an expansion of the franchise, Nightwatch Nation<\/em>. Launching August 16 on A&E, with international distribution being handled by A+E Networks, Nightwatch Nation <\/em>heads to four bustling American cities and follows EMTs (emergency medical technicians) as they work the 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. overnight shift.<\/p>\n

\"***Image***\"TV REAL:<\/strong> How did Nightwatch<\/em> Nation <\/em>and the partnership with Dick Wolf come about?
\nDRACHKOVITCH:<\/strong> Dick was launching his highly successful Chicago<\/em> scripted series at NBC. We had been talking for a while about teaming up on some non-scripted shows. 44 Blue is known for going inside prisons and police departments and so on. So we collaborated on finding a city that would let us in to do the same version of Dick\u2019s scripted ideas in the non-scripted field. I had done quite a bit of production in Louisiana and I knew the mayor of New Orleans, so Dick and I went in and he said, \u201cI want to make heroes out of your first responders.\u201d And the mayor said, \u201cWhat do you need, Dick?\u201d And Dick said, \u201cThe keys to your city!\u201d The mayor let us in and that was the beginning of Nightwatch<\/em>. We followed the New Orleans police department, fire department and EMTs for three seasons. It took off. We added Tampa, Florida. We were able to embed in these cities for four to six months, following first responders. That’s how it started. And then with the success A&E has had with Live PD<\/em>, it was a natural evolution for us to go national.<\/p>\n

TV REAL:<\/strong> How did you manage the logistics of that expansion?
\nDRACHKOVITCH:<\/strong> It\u2019s a challenging show. One of the biggest challenges is getting permission. You have to get the trust of the city, starting with the mayor. We had a lot of outreach to a lot of cities in America. We got a lot of \u201cno\u2019s,\u201d but the strength of the show and the relationships with the mayors of New Orleans and Tampa were our best calling cards. We were able to get into Yonkers, New York; into Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Austin, Texas; and Tucson, Arizona. We have plans for other cities as well. If you\u2019re in one city for half a year, you can set up shop. Now we have divided our \"***Image***\"production strategy into four groups for the four cities for a shorter amount of time.<\/p>\n

TV REAL:<\/strong> How do you and your teams sift through all that footage to structure each episode into a compelling story?
\nDRACHKOVITCH:<\/strong> We have a clock, it\u2019s the signature element\u2014the shift starts at 8 p.m. and ends at 4 a.m. The biggest juggle is how many cases we do in each city and how we pace ourselves. The cases in each city are very different because of the geography\u2014that gives us variety. The one reoccurring call that happens in all the cities that is incredibly sad is the opioid epidemic. The calls are pretty frantic. In many cases, the patient is literally not breathing, and the EMTs administer this drug called Narcan and they come back. It’s very powerful and very timely for what’s going on in America today. You get perspective on what it’s like to treat so many people caught up in it.<\/p>\n

TV REAL:<\/strong> You have a broad and diverse slate at 44 Blue. How is the overall commissioning landscape for the company in today\u2019s factual marketplace?
\nDRACHKOVITCH:<\/strong> We do have a diverse slate. That\u2019s on purpose. The marketplace is changing so much. There are some things we\u2019re known for and that we\u2019re attracted to\u2014stories of redemption, second chances and the extreme human experience speak to us. We like to look for stories that fall into those categories. That fits with our brand and some of the networks, like A&E, which is doubling down on shows like Live PD<\/em> and Nightwatch Nation\u00a0<\/em>and Intervention<\/em> and so on. We\u2019ve got a couple of shows at Netflix, one in the prison space. That\u2019s a new buyer for us and it\u2019s great to be working with such a supportive network. And then on the other side of the spectrum, Hollywood Medium<\/em> was picked up for its fourth season at E! It\u2019s a whole different show. It\u2019s very popular with the E! audience. Our development slate is really across the board!<\/p>\n

TV REAL: <\/strong>Your bio says you\u2019ve been stoned, shot at and chased by the Yakuza! Are you still able to spend a lot of time in the field?
\nDRACHKOVITCH:<\/strong> Those were the good old days! Now it\u2019s a little safer. I\u2019ve always been attracted to these kinds of stories, in the cop world or prisons or red-light districts. I got to see the world from the back seat of a cop car! Now, I try to balance my time as much as I can. I do love being in the field. I’m very curious about stories and people. I try to make sure I get out for every show and spend a little bit of time with the police chiefs and paramedics and ride around. It\u2019s important\u2014if you\u2019re going to make content, you\u2019ve got to get to know the content. I don\u2019t travel as much anymore, but I do make it a point to get out as much as I can.<\/p>\n

TV REAL: <\/strong>What advice can you offer your crews on how to deal with the sometimes-precarious situations that can arise when you\u2019re doing shows like this?
\nDRACHKOVITCH:<\/strong> You never want to become the story; you want to capture the story. We\u2019re careful about selecting specialists for these kinds of shows, people who are comfortable working in uncomfortable situations. You\u2019ve got to have a thick skin and be able to adapt quickly when things go south. You need to have people who can show good judgment and understand safety first. We have lots of safety meetings. We do lots of counseling to make sure everybody is OK. We’re fortunate to have high-end professional teams.<\/p>\n

TV REAL:<\/strong> What\u2019s it been like working with Dick Wolf?
\nDRACHKOVITCH:<\/strong> He loves this series and his goal is to do more and more programming in this area. I\u2019m thrilled that we have one of the legendary television producers as a partner. It\u2019s quite a thrill to be producing with him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The company’s CEO and co-founder talks about the new series Nightwatch Nation, among other things.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":11517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,69],"tags":[1334,3115,3130],"class_list":["post-11516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-interviews","category-top-stories","tag-44-blue-productions","tag-nightwatch-nation","tag-rasha-drachkovitch","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n44 Blue Productions' Rasha Drachkovitch - TVREAL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-on-nightwatch-nation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"44 Blue Productions' Rasha Drachkovitch - TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The company's CEO and co-founder talks about the new series Nightwatch Nation, among other things.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-on-nightwatch-nation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-15T14:11:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-08-16T13:38:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/07\/2018-08-15-Rasha-Headshot-v1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"320\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-on-nightwatch-nation\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-on-nightwatch-nation\/\",\"name\":\"44 Blue Productions' Rasha Drachkovitch - TVREAL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-15T14:11:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-08-16T13:38:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-on-nightwatch-nation\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-on-nightwatch-nation\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-on-nightwatch-nation\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"44 Blue Productions’ Rasha Drachkovitch\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\",\"name\":\"TVREAL\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\",\"name\":\"Mansha Daswani\",\"description\":\"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. She can be reached on mdaswani@worldscreen.com.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/author\/mdaswaniworldscreen-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"44 Blue Productions' Rasha Drachkovitch - TVREAL","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-on-nightwatch-nation\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"44 Blue Productions' Rasha Drachkovitch - TVREAL","og_description":"The company's CEO and co-founder talks about the new series Nightwatch Nation, among other things.","og_url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-on-nightwatch-nation\/","og_site_name":"TVREAL","article_published_time":"2018-08-15T14:11:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-08-16T13:38:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":320,"url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/07\/2018-08-15-Rasha-Headshot-v1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mansha Daswani","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mansha Daswani","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-on-nightwatch-nation\/","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-on-nightwatch-nation\/","name":"44 Blue Productions' Rasha Drachkovitch - TVREAL","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-08-15T14:11:02+00:00","dateModified":"2018-08-16T13:38:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-on-nightwatch-nation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-on-nightwatch-nation\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/44-blues-rasha-drachkovitch-on-nightwatch-nation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"44 Blue Productions’ Rasha Drachkovitch"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/","name":"TVREAL","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad","name":"Mansha Daswani","description":"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. She can be reached on mdaswani@worldscreen.com.","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/author\/mdaswaniworldscreen-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/290"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}