Aaron Saidman, co-founder and President of Sony Pictures Television’s The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC), relishes reality entertainment for the mirror that it provides. The expansion of the field has brought an incalculable sense of wonder. Each airing is an opening to cultivate empathy for a myriad of communities and lived experiences. “What I love about unscripted television is all of the wonderful and dazzling ways in which it reflects our culture back to us – that’s the excitement of working in this space for me personally,” says Aaron, who also serves as Co-President of Sony Pictures Television – Nonfiction. “It’s amazing what my industry colleagues have done over the last couple of decades in the inventiveness of both the storytelling itself and the worlds that they explore. The different windows into different lifestyles and subcultures, the quirks of humanity that we’re able to capture on camera, and the ability to then put all of these ingredients into entertaining programs for large audiences is certainly something worth celebrating.”
Unscripted is for the bold and inquisitive. That curiosity imbues audiences with a gregarious vigor. “At the core of nonfiction storytelling is a sort of courage and a risk-taking ethos to want to explore these different worlds and then to find ways to bring audiences to those stories that they might not know about or they might have a misconception about. By watching those shows, they become fascinated by them and students of them. That’s always the opportunity that our industry has in terms of entertaining mass audiences. I think this risk-taking ethos is something important for us producers and directors to remind ourselves that this is part of what drew us to this space in the first place.”
Sincerity is the heartbeat of the genre. Eagle eyed viewers are more shrewd than ever. “Authenticity is something that we cherish in all of the storytelling we do, but it’s also something that audiences can sniff out. They know whether something rings true or doesn’t. It’s important to never underestimate your audience and to make sure that you are remembering authenticity is the distinguishing feature of our form of entertainment. These are real people, they’re doing real things, and these are the real stories of their real lives.”
Resonance will keep your audience invested over the long haul. “One of the things that we always strive to do at IPC is to capture those powerful, authentic stories and, whether it’s a format or a documentary, allow for that humanity to come through in the storytelling. It’s okay if you don’t specifically relate to a specific person that’s onscreen, but there’s a good chance you will relate to what they’re feeling and what they’re experiencing emotionally. I believe that’s a constant, consistent thread through most of IPC’s programming, whether we’re working with regular people or celebrities. Irrespective of the format that we’re devising, that’s something that we take to heart at our company.”
THE FIXER: Marcus Lemonis in the “Perpirology” Series Premiere episode of THE FIXER airing Friday, July 18 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Cr: FOX. © 2025 FOXMEDIA LLC.
IPC’s new show, The Fixer, harkens to the adventurer and optimist within each of us. “At the center of the show is Marcus Lemonis, who is an investor and a very successful entrepreneur. He is really passionate about the American small business and what the people on the show are going through is really their version of trying to make the American dream come true. Marcus meets with them and assesses their businesses and their plans. He tries to help them and attempts to make a decision for himself as to whether he wants to invest and supercharge their business. But in order to do that, he has to immerse himself into what they’re doing and how they’re running their business. It’s a fun journey for the viewer to go on through what Marcus is doing, but really we’re celebrating the American small business. We’re celebrating the American entrepreneurial spirit, and we’re not shying away from some of the challenges that some of those businesses are facing today. The show is timely and relevant. For the viewer at home, they can experience how they feel about these businesses and what they think their prospects may be. But whether or not it’s a product you yourself may buy or admire, you’re still rooting for them to ultimately succeed because at the end of the day, these are human stories.”
Innovation sparks national intrigue. “People want to see families succeed, and Americans love celebrating new ideas. That is still part of our frontier spirit, which is, ‘Hey, if I come up with something and it’s novel and then I can figure out how to turn that into a functioning business, I can be really successful.’ I think that’s something that everyone can get behind. Seeing that process and getting to watch that journey is part of what’s entertaining about the format. Viewers want to see people try their own thing and pull it off. That makes the show exciting, but also very American in its inner spirit.”
The quest for success remains steadfast. “It’s a joyful reminder that the American dream is alive and well. Here are all these people pursuing it, and a great portion of them are going to pull it off, but the real point is that they’re after it. This is still a country where that’s possible. You can have an idea, you can put it together and go and pursue it. It’s worth recognizing that it’s not just a myth. It’s a real thing that people are still pursuing.”
For his part, Aaron is open to new challenges. “At IPC, quality and authenticity are north stars. That has to stay front and center. You have to have the courage of your convictions as a storyteller that something that you are interested in can be made compelling for a mass audience. You have to be willing to surprise yourself. One of the things that IPC is known for is making a range of different kinds of shows – it’s not all in one genre. Exploring new worlds and different lifestyles and providing an opportunity for our audiences to engage with that is something we talk about all the time. And we push ourselves to tackle new areas, no matter how challenging or difficult it might be to produce those shows. It’s definitely not something we would ever shy away from. In some ways, we run to it. If it’s controversial, or loud, or just a bit dangerous and scary, we’re interested. That hunger for breaking new ground and trying new things is really important to how we decide what to make TV shows about.” Audience appetites guarantee an exhilarating tomorrow. Audience appetites guarantee an exhilarating ride this season. Watch The Fixer on FOX.
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IPC Co-Founder Aaron Saidman on “The Fixer” and the Unifying Power of Unscripted. Photo Credit: Courtesy of The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC).
