Mike Bachmann
works in comedy. As an Executive
Producer, Mike has launched successful television shows for Fox, BET and
Nickelodeon and winning web productions for Yahoo!, MSN and Google. As a writer, Mike has worked in
scripted television, talk shows and feature films. And Finally, as a performer Mike has worked consistently in
films, television, commercials and as a host and stand up comedian.
Mike resides in
Studio City with his wife and three children and works out of his offices at
Grainey Pictures in Marina Del Rey.
Mike is represented by Michael Pio at Innovative Artists.
For a more in
depth look at some projects, please see below...
In May 2011, Mike was hired to help figure out how to help create a new and funnier take on entertainment news. Something that can be funny in late night and still compete with ET and TMZ in access and talk shows in midday. It was no small task.
Dish Nation is a daily
entertainment news show featuring radio DJs 
from around the country offering a
fresh and funny take on the day’s biggest stories.
After
several weeks working on defining the show format and direction Mike moved into
the field to work directly with talent.
By the time the first episode
aired on July 25th, 2011, Mike was working so closely with talent,
that he was brought on camera as “Producer Mike” to help get more laughs and
get the show picked up for series.
It worked.
By
August, 2014 Mike became the sole Executive Producer of Dish Nation. The show had evolved from Radio DJs
commenting on other outlet’s headlines to a show that now had it’s own
respected research and investigation team and a network of partnerships that
were generating original, exclusive content. The website was revamped and grew from 30K visitors per
month to over 1mm. The DJs were
accepted as full blown pop culture authorities and became frequent commentators
on news broadcasts around the country.
Dish Nation became a household name. Major outlets including the Huffington Post, People
Magazine, US Weekly and every entertainment news program was now sourcing Dish
Nation on exclusive stories and re
purposing Dish Nation interviews with A-List talent and viral stars.
On January 6, 2015 Dish Nation
was renewed through the 2016 – 2017 season. In February 2015 Dish Nation hit an average of 1.6 million
nightly viewers and posted an all time record ratings high. By March 2015 Dish Nation was up over
33% on the previous year and beating more establish programs like TMZ, and the
Insider. Dish Nation airs
weeknights. Local times and
channels can be found at www.dishnation.com.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
YAHOO! and PRIMETIME IN NO TIME
The
short form show was a fast paced, comedic take on the most important moments in
last night’s television. The key was to keep it on trend and funny, deliver it
quickly and maintain the highest standards in production value. In addition to
his writing responsibilities Mike was an Executive Producer and guest host on
the show. In 2012, PiNT celebrated
it’s 1000th episode and exceeded 500mm streams, and has been referred to as
“one of the most successful original programs in the history of the internet”
by CBS Marketwatch.
PiNT remains the most successful daily program on Yahoo! and has evolved into a multi platform production including several spin-off productions including “Daytime in No Time” and a late night version franchised under the “In No Time” banner on Yahoo! Screen.
PiNT remains the most successful daily program on Yahoo! and has evolved into a multi platform production including several spin-off productions including “Daytime in No Time” and a late night version franchised under the “In No Time” banner on Yahoo! Screen.
While at Yahoo! Mike also served as a comedy writer and panelist/host on “OMG’s The 411” a weekly recap of gossip, fashion and pop culture and a writer/co-host on “What’s So Funny?” a daily guide to the funniest moments on primetime television.
As a key creative partner at Grainey Pictures Mike works on projects in all media. Working in Film, Television, and online, the team at Grainey relies on once unifying concept, great storytelling.
Before
he won the Superbowl with the Seattle Seahawks’ Coach Pete Carroll wrote the
book on how to win. Mike worked
closely with Coach Carroll to turn that book into an interactive experience online. Using innovative tools and video and
the right dose of humor. The Always Compete / Win Forever program helped
coaches and executives learn to compete as their best selves.
ThinkB4U ProjectThe challenge was how to teach parents and kids about online safety without sounding like preachy dorks. Mike worked with the team at Google, Fuel and Grainey Pictures to write, produce and even star in a series of interactive videos geared at a variety of users.
ThinkB4U ProjectThe challenge was how to teach parents and kids about online safety without sounding like preachy dorks. Mike worked with the team at Google, Fuel and Grainey Pictures to write, produce and even star in a series of interactive videos geared at a variety of users.
The Magic Mirror
ABC’s
“Once Upon A Time” was just getting started and wanted to do something noisy
online. Mike worked with Grainey
to create the Magic Mirror. Users
type in any question in the universe and get personalized, specific answers. Mike had to create hundreds of
scenarios to make this a unique and special experience. It was like using Siri to tell your
future. The response on social
media was phenomenal as Mike created the perfect balance of heartfelt, fun and
funny responses to life’s most important and inane questions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Mad Cow Productions and Soul Pancake
After
working with Madeleine Smithberg (one of the creators of the Daily Show) and
Sarah North, on the launch of Dish Nation’s test run, Mike found a way to work
with them on even more projects on breaks from Dish Nation. With the Mad Cow team, Mike worked on
pilots for “The 5th Hour” and “Don’t Sleep hosted by TJ
Holmes.” When Sarah North joined
forces with Rainn Wilson’s Soul Pancake, Mike was once again invited to write
on projects there as well.
The 5th Hour
Head Writer
Nickelodeon
realized that after the kids went to bed, mom was still watching Nick and “Nick
Mom” was born. Mike worked as the
head writer to pilot new content for the mom audience. The answer was “The 5th
Hour.” Imagine a parody talk show that takes place during that fifth hour of
morning television. Imagine Hoda
and Kathie Lee after a few more glasses of wine and in a much smaller
market. That was the idea behind
“The 5th Hour.” It was real news delivered by fake personalities and
moms loved it.
Don’t Sleep hosted by TJ Holmes
Writer / Consultant
BET
Networks took a risk and convinced the award-winning journalist TJ Holmes to
leave his post at CNN and launch his own new late night talk show on BET. With only a few days before taping the
first episode in front of a live studio audience, the scripts needed work. They needed to be funnier, edgier, more
relevant and capture TJ’s voice.
Mike was hired to work with writing and producing team to help the show
find its way. By the time the
audience was seated, BET had a winning combination and went on to take “Don’t
Sleep” on a successful series run.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ugly Floor
Executive Producer / Created By
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi – Jinks
Comedy Consultant
Parents play elaborate hidden
camera pranks on their kids. The
big problem was the tears. Mike
was brought in to find the correct balance of comedy and knowing how far
parents/production can go with out causing lifelong emotional damage. :)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
50 Greatest
Executive Producer
In an era of listicles and
countdowns, Mike worked with Jamie Kennedy, MSN, David Garrett and producer
Tony Dimond to create the parody countdown show. The show presented such infotainment as “The 50 Greatest
Scripted Moments in Reality Television” and “50 Greatest Child-aged Fighters.” The project bounced around to different
online networks for several years and eventually found a home on Ripe TV.
