Joshua Asen

About Joshua Asen

I’m a producer of unscripted film & television, a development executive, network commissioner, and leader of teams large & small. I live by the creed “Truth is stranger than Fiction,” which has guided my career as an unscripted producer. My north star is to tell the most interesting human stories and push the boundaries of filmmaking. I began my journey as an independent filmmaker on a Fulbright Grant in Morocco, documenting the explosive Hip Hop scene there and self-producing my first feature film, which premiered at Sundance. I evolved from filmmaker to development executive, creating slates of new projects for production companies abroad and in New York City, which yielded several critically-acclaimed series & docs. Most recently, I was recruited by the world’s largest marketing agency to launch an original content studio, where I expanded existing client business and created new partnerships around original IP. In two years, we produced the first original musical on TikTok (hosted by Andy Cohen), the first VR concert for Post Malone (Telly winner), the first New Year\'s Eve party in the Metaverse (hosted by Shaq & Cardi B), the first animated season of Netflix’s hit environmental series “Down to Earth with Zac Efron,” (Emmy winner) as well as starting production on 4 feature documentaries. I worked with client leads across the company to forge new partnerships with brands including Meta, TikTok, Roblox and Adidas, translating marketing goals into original IP. I’m equally proud of the megahits I helped shepherd, like Vh1’s “Love & HipHop” franchise and MTV’s “Teen Mom,” as well as critically-acclaimed series, like “Mythbusters Jr,” “Generation Cryo,” (both Emmy nominated) and “Project Broadway” (Telly winner), currently in development for a streaming platform. I’m always looking ahead to the next stranger-than-fiction story and to new ways to drive revenue through content.

Experience

1. Head of Unscripted Entertainment

   Monks

   Jan 2021 — Present · New York, NY, US

   Launched original content studio within global production / marketing agency. Developing unscripted series & documentaries, as well as branded content partnerships. Series produced:\"Project Broadway\"(TikTok musical series, hosted by Andy Cohen, Telly award);\"Down to Earth with Zac Efron: Season 2\"(Netflix, Emmy winner);\"Shaq\'tacular New Year\'s Eve\"(Meta/Oculus VR, Telly award); Feature docs:\"Yahoo Yodeler\"(pop culture doc);\"Hush Puppi\"(true crime doc); Competition formats:\"Dress.Code\"(digital fashion series, Roblox);\"Piñata Viva\"(physical competition);\"Pixel This\"(AI pictionary gameshow).

Education

• Brown University

  BA, French Studies, Modern Culture & Media

  1998 — 2002

• Fulbright Scholarship

  Musicology and Ethnomusicology

  2004 — 2005

• LIU Brooklyn

  Master of Education - MEd (NYC Teaching Fellow), Sociolinguistics, Applied Linguistics, ESL, Early childhood, elementary

  2005 — 2008