The Woodshed is a full service media production company specializing in non-fiction programming with breakthrough characters and stunning footage. Founded by award-winning producer and 25-year industry veteran Peter Reiss, The Woodshed has a keen radar for breakthrough characters and esoteric businesses ripe for exposure. We utilize our deep experience and knowledge in all aspects of the reality and documentary space to offer tier-one, Network quality development and production services.

Peter has produced more than 100 hours of primetime news, documentary and reality TV programming, helping to define the very genre. After launching his career as executive assistant to TV legend Roone Arledge, Peter spent the 1990’s working on World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, and the ABC News Foreign Desk. In 1996, he joined the innovative new division ABC News Productions, where he was a producer of The Discovery Channel series Discovery News. Peter reached a number of milestones during his nearly 10 years at ABC News Productions, including producing the award-winning Discovery Channel documentary, “Mind Of A Killer”, a pioneering look into the biological roots of violence through a case study of serial killer Joel Rifkin. To this day, “Mind Of A Killer” serves as a scientific reference at prestigious universities across the country. Peter led his division at ABC, producing around the world from the front lines of the biggest news stories of the decade: the Columbine school shooting in Colorado, Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, John Glenn’s return to space in Florida, the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy in Texas; the Japanese Embassy hostage crisis in Lima, Peru, and Fidel Castro’s health in Havana, Cuba, to name a few.

In 2000, Peter was recruited by NBC News to help start its new division, NBC News Productions, the pre-cursor to Peacock Productions (www.peacockproductions.tv). During his tenure, he was once again on the ground floor of this emerging genre, developing and producing documentaries, instamentaries, docu-series and reality series for A&E, History, Discovery, National Geographic, VH-1, TLC, Travel, E, Lifetime, Syfy, NBC, MSNBC, Court TV, The Military Channel, and The Weather Channel. No story was off limits, as Peter’s tenacity landed him access to, among other places, Iraq, Afghanistan, and New Orleans during the darkest post-Katrina days, where he directed groundbreaking productions that garnered several awards, including 2 CINE Golden Eagles, a Telly, and an Emmy nomination.

Network series produced include: Biography (A&E), Secrets Of (Discovery), Power Privilege & Justice with Dominick Dunne (Court TV), Under Investigation with Nancy Grace (Court TV), Sc-Fi Investigates (SCI FI), Dead Men Talking (MSNBC), Storm Stories (Weather), Caught On Camera (MSNBC), Only Human (Discovery), Lifeline (Discovery), Living Dangerously (National Geographic), Weather: Caught on Camera (Weather), and Profiling Evil (MSNBC).

Documentaries and Specials include: Virginia Tech: Eyewitness to Tragedy (History), Killing Bin Laden (Discovery), Secrets Of Seal Team Six (Discovery), Secrets Of Diplomatic Security (Military), Tracking The Terrorists (Discovery), When The Levees Failed (Discovery); Hurricanes: Deadly Season (Discovery), Killer Storm: Anatomy Of Katrina (Discovery), The Candidates: Sarah Palin (MSNBC), New Orleans 10 Years After With Brian Williams (MSNBC), The Spill: Crisis In The Gulf with Brian Williams (Weather), Lightning Strikes (Weather), iGenius: How Steve Jobs Changed The World (Discovery), Extreme Firepower (Discovery), Secrets Of The Secret Service (Discovery) Larry Birkhead: Goodnight My Sweet Ana Baby (E), Michael Jacksons Kids: Hidden Lives (TLC), Countdown To Doomsday (SCI FI), Mars Live (Discovery), Charlie Sheen: On The Brink (TLC), Charlie Sheen – Wining…Or Losing It? (VH1), 50 Crimes That Captivated America (E), Carrier At War with Tom Brokaw (Discovery), The 85th Anniversary of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (NBC), London Revealed (Travel) Sandy: The Anatomy Of A Superstorm (Weather).

Crisscrossing the globe, Peter developed a razor sharp ability to recognize vibrant personalities that pop on camera as well as unique professions that resonate with viewers. He established a network of the most talented production professionals in the business that now work with The Woodshed to provide unparalleled services, from development through final delivery.

Additionally, The Woodshed is fully immersed in the long form breaking news territory and has the experience and resources to crash authoritative instamentaries and hard hitting in-depth documentaries that uncover new territory.