Canada’s Will Reid Goes From Superfan to Super Producer for ‘Countess Cabaret’
Will Reid has always known he wanted to work in the media industry. Early on, he saw himself as a reporter or television host, as many young people do, but the more he exposed himself to the world of entertainment, the more he found himself leaning to the behind-the-scenes aspect, seeing the artistry of bringing an idea to life. He quickly found himself intrigued by producing, finding it was the perfect combination of his innate talent and interests.
“A producer gets to have their hand in so many elements of a project, from conception to execution, and I realized my skills lie in putting all those pieces together to set the groundwork for incredible content,” he said.
Residing in Toronto, Reid has taken the Canadian entertainment industry by storm. Working on the country’s leading entertainment news broadcast, Entertainment Tonight Canada, for the past seven years, Reid has worked with countless A-list celebrities and covered major worldwide events to create captivating content for the show. While working on the show, he has also taken on other projects simultaneously, including the country’s most popular reality show Big Brother Canada and The Bachelor Canada After Show, the Canadian spin-off to the iconic Bachelor franchise.
Reid’s talents extend far beyond the world of television. He recently hosted Real Housewives of New York City star Luann de Lesseps’ Q&A segment during both stops of her cabaret tour. This involved fielding questions from the audience during the live show and putting his extensive knowledge of the Real Housewives franchise to use as he facilitated her interactive segment.
“Any Real Housewives fan will tell you: Countess Luann is a reality TV icon. As she famously said in season 4 of The RHONY, ‘even Louis Vuitton makes mistakes’ – and it would have been a real mistake on my part to pass up this opportunity. Countess Cabaret is a fun, tongue-in-cheek live experience. The show makes frequent reference to Luann’s highs and lows, as documented over the years on The RHONY City, and I love that she can make light of her mishaps while celebrating her most iconic TV moments,” said Reid.
Reid was uniquely qualified to fill this role. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, some people took up hobbies or learned new skills, like playing an instrument or making homemade sourdough bread. Reid opted to binge season after season and city after city of The Real Housewives. When the lockdowns ended, he was able to turn this newfound fixation into something productive, chasing interview after interview with cast members from the various cities in the franchise to use on ET Canada. By the time RHONY star Luann de Lesseps – also known as Countess Luann – brought her cabaret tour to Toronto, Reid had produced at least two dozen interviews with Real Housewives stars past and present and was therefore asked to host the Q&A segment of her live show at Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre. When he began working, he also found the experience of producing a live show very similar to doing red carpet interviews, something he has endless experience in.
“I really enjoyed that this production was 100% live; there are no do-overs, no pick-ups, no re-reads. Although I was primarily serving in a hosting capacity, this role still required me to draw from my skills as a producer. For example, as I weaved my way through the audience, I had to use my instinctive judgment to decide on the spot who to pick to interact with Luann to create engaging and memorable moments in the show. This role presented a unique challenge for me, and one I was excited to tackle,” he recalled.
Countess Cabaret is an ongoing live theater production touring across the U.S. and Canada. The Toronto dates took place on June 3rd and 4th, 2022. The first date completely sold out, which prompted the addition of the second, and Reid is so proud to be a part of this ongoing success.
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