Jake Sasseville
Encyclopedia
Jake Sasseville is an American television producer and host. Sasseville currently is the host and executive producer of “Late Night Republic
,” and was previously the host of “The Edge with Jake Sasseville
.” He lives in New York City.
. He began his performance work as a magician in local restaurants as a 13-year-old boy. He attended New York Institute of Technology
and Marymount Manhattan College
in New York City before leaving college to pursue his career full-time.
Sasseville has at times openly struggled with his weight, telling a newspaper that he lost about 100 pounds (45.4 kg) through diet and exercise.
He recently released a book entitled "It's Not that I'm BiPolar, It's That I'm Gay" which is a series of short stories of Sasseville's life including business antics, how he's funded his business at any cost and the wild world that he's created as a self-proclaimed "Hollywood Outsider".
cable TV and later on the local Fox station. After moving to New York, he began to create syndication deals with individual TV stations. At its peak, “The Edge” aired on at least 37 stations following a guerrilla marketing
campaign that encouraged fans to contact TV stations. Guests included actor Rainn Wilson
of The Office, musician and activist Wyclef Jean
, and comedian Will Forte of Saturday Night Live
. Repeats continued until the summer of 2010.
The program relied heavily on sponsor integration, with promotions for Overstock.com
and Ford Motor Company
inserted in creative material throughout the programming. For example, 30-second clips would show Sasseville trying to find large, bulky items on Overstock.com in order to take advantage of the company's flat-rate shipping policy. The Coca-Cola Company
brand Fuze also sponsored the program and ran a commercial featuring Sasseville prior to movies at theaters in the United States. Sasseville was known for aggressively courting sponsors; when unsuccessfully appealing to State Farm
in 2008, he traveled to the company's headquarters 700 miles (1,126.5 km) away in Illinois and talked his way on to the local morning show.
,” on more than 50 stations throughout the United States. He said that the new show is more reflective of his maturity. "The humor I used to have was indicative of the age I was at the time,” he said.
The show airs one night a week on Fox, MyTV, and CW stations. Since Sasseville’s production company, Jake Entertainment Inc., secures deals with individual stations, timeslots vary by city. In September 2010, Sasseville launched a publicity campaign to keep the show on the air in San Diego, California, after ratings for "The Edge" put "Late Night Republic's" standing in peril on the XETV
station.
Sasseville has said that some show content will come directly from viewers, who may offer content and ideas over social networks, adding that by 2011, the show will be "exclusively" produced by viewers. He has indicated that the audience demographic is 16-to-24-years of age.
Early episodes featured interviews with comedian and actor Michael Ian Black
and actress Blanchard Ryan, along with a variety of sketch comedy, interview, and music segments. The show does not appear to tape in a single studio and instead resorts to on-location filming in New York or against a white background.
By securing funding directly from advertisers instead of television networks, “Late Night Republic” appears to be following a non-traditional financing model similar to “The Edge.” Sasseville heavily promotes the Procter & Gamble
Pringles Xtreme brand during the show, including an interactive contest sponsored by Pringles where viewers can submit comedic videos for judging by Sasseville.
He has been quoted saying that he is comfortable with obvious brand integrations into his show. "If you let your audience in to know that this is what you have to do to make sure that you can pay the bills, they get it and they're okay with it," Sasseville told an interviewer. "It's when people start to try to hide it that it becomes slippery slope."
In September 2010, Sasseville said that he would be visiting at least 45 cities during the fall season as part of a road trip to promote "Late Night Republic."
Sasseville’s fall 2010 tour will visit 15 campuses and is branded by Pringles Xtreme. J. Cole and We The Kings will perform.
Late Night Republic
Late Night Republic is an American syndicated late-night television talk show. It is hosted by 24-year-old Jake Sasseville, who also serves as an executive producer. The show features celebrity and "on the street" interviews by Sasseville, sketch comedy bits, and musical performances...
,” and was previously the host of “The Edge with Jake Sasseville
The Edge with Jake Sasseville (TV series)
The Edge with Jake Sasseville was an American late-night television talk show created and hosted by 24-year-old Jake Sasseville. The series combined celebrity interviews, unscripted comedy, and behind-the-scenes footage of how a 24-year-old starts a television show. The program was produced by...
.” He lives in New York City.
Personal life
Sasseville grew up in Auburn, Maine, and attended Edward Little High SchoolEdward Little High School
Edward Little High School is a public high school in Auburn, Maine, United States that was first established as Lewiston Falls Academy in 1835. Philanthropist Edward Little donated and considerable money to the academy, which was named in his honor...
. He began his performance work as a magician in local restaurants as a 13-year-old boy. He attended New York Institute of Technology
New York Institute of Technology
New York Institute of Technology is a private, non-sectarian, co-educational research university in New York City. NYIT has five schools and two colleges, all with a strong emphasis on technology and applied scientific research...
and Marymount Manhattan College
Marymount Manhattan College
Marymount Manhattan College is an urban, coeducational, independent, private, liberal arts college located in Manhattan, New York City, New York with a focus in performing arts. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse student body by fostering intellectual...
in New York City before leaving college to pursue his career full-time.
Sasseville has at times openly struggled with his weight, telling a newspaper that he lost about 100 pounds (45.4 kg) through diet and exercise.
He recently released a book entitled "It's Not that I'm BiPolar, It's That I'm Gay" which is a series of short stories of Sasseville's life including business antics, how he's funded his business at any cost and the wild world that he's created as a self-proclaimed "Hollywood Outsider".
"The Edge with Jake Sasseville"
Sasseville developed “The Edge with Jake Sasseville” while a teenager in Maine. He aired the show on local Public-access televisionPublic-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV and later on the local Fox station. After moving to New York, he began to create syndication deals with individual TV stations. At its peak, “The Edge” aired on at least 37 stations following a guerrilla marketing
Guerrilla marketing
Guerrilla warfare is about waging small intermittent attacks on different territories of the opponent with the aim of harassing and demoralising the opponent and eventually securing permanent footholds....
campaign that encouraged fans to contact TV stations. Guests included actor Rainn Wilson
Rainn Wilson
Rainn Dietrich Wilson is an American actor and comedian. He is primarily known for his role as the egomaniacal Dwight Schrute on the American version of the television comedy The Office...
of The Office, musician and activist Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country...
, and comedian Will Forte of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. Repeats continued until the summer of 2010.
The program relied heavily on sponsor integration, with promotions for Overstock.com
Overstock.com
Overstock.com , also known by its shortcut, O.co, is an online retailer headquartered in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, near Salt Lake City. Founded in 1997 by Robert Brazell, under the name D2: Discounts Direct, it was a pioneering online seller of surplus merchandise which, upon its failure in 1999,...
and Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
inserted in creative material throughout the programming. For example, 30-second clips would show Sasseville trying to find large, bulky items on Overstock.com in order to take advantage of the company's flat-rate shipping policy. The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
brand Fuze also sponsored the program and ran a commercial featuring Sasseville prior to movies at theaters in the United States. Sasseville was known for aggressively courting sponsors; when unsuccessfully appealing to State Farm
State farm
State farm can refer to:*Sovkhoz, a type of state-owned farm in the Soviet Union*Volkseigenes Gut, a type of state-owned farm in East Germany*Państwowe Gospodarstwo Rolne, a type of state-owned farm in People's Republic of Poland...
in 2008, he traveled to the company's headquarters 700 miles (1,126.5 km) away in Illinois and talked his way on to the local morning show.
"Late Night Republic"
On August 6, 2010, Sasseville launched a new show, “Late Night RepublicLate Night Republic
Late Night Republic is an American syndicated late-night television talk show. It is hosted by 24-year-old Jake Sasseville, who also serves as an executive producer. The show features celebrity and "on the street" interviews by Sasseville, sketch comedy bits, and musical performances...
,” on more than 50 stations throughout the United States. He said that the new show is more reflective of his maturity. "The humor I used to have was indicative of the age I was at the time,” he said.
The show airs one night a week on Fox, MyTV, and CW stations. Since Sasseville’s production company, Jake Entertainment Inc., secures deals with individual stations, timeslots vary by city. In September 2010, Sasseville launched a publicity campaign to keep the show on the air in San Diego, California, after ratings for "The Edge" put "Late Night Republic's" standing in peril on the XETV
XETV
XETV is a television station licensed to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, serving as the CW Television Network affiliate for the San Diego, California area across the international border in the United States...
station.
Sasseville has said that some show content will come directly from viewers, who may offer content and ideas over social networks, adding that by 2011, the show will be "exclusively" produced by viewers. He has indicated that the audience demographic is 16-to-24-years of age.
Early episodes featured interviews with comedian and actor Michael Ian Black
Michael Ian Black
Michael Ian Black is an American comedian, actor, writer and director. He has starred in several TV comedy series, including The State, Ed, Viva Variety, Stella and Michael & Michael Have Issues. He is also a prominent poker player, appearing on Celebrity Poker Showdown several times...
and actress Blanchard Ryan, along with a variety of sketch comedy, interview, and music segments. The show does not appear to tape in a single studio and instead resorts to on-location filming in New York or against a white background.
By securing funding directly from advertisers instead of television networks, “Late Night Republic” appears to be following a non-traditional financing model similar to “The Edge.” Sasseville heavily promotes the Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
Pringles Xtreme brand during the show, including an interactive contest sponsored by Pringles where viewers can submit comedic videos for judging by Sasseville.
He has been quoted saying that he is comfortable with obvious brand integrations into his show. "If you let your audience in to know that this is what you have to do to make sure that you can pay the bills, they get it and they're okay with it," Sasseville told an interviewer. "It's when people start to try to hide it that it becomes slippery slope."
In September 2010, Sasseville said that he would be visiting at least 45 cities during the fall season as part of a road trip to promote "Late Night Republic."
Delusions of Grandeur
Jake Sasseville recently announced that along with his long-time executive producer Jeffrey Eisenberg, he is launching "Delusions of Grandeur" in January 2012. He says that "Delusions of Grandeur" takes the very best of what he's learned in television since the age of 15. It is reported that the show will pull from real life events of Sasseville's "delusional" world and odd events that happen in his daily life. Production is scheduled to begin in Fall 2011 and the show has been picked up in the top 50 TV markets on a variety of networks in 73.3 million households. The first season of the show is scheduled to begin the fourth week of January 2012.Music tours
For three years, Sasseville has also hosted and produced music tours that visit campuses in the United States through the Next Step Campus Music Tour. Sasseville typically appeared on stage before and during the event to warm up the crowd, introduce acts, and distribute prizes. Past performers included Guster and Brett Dennen.Sasseville’s fall 2010 tour will visit 15 campuses and is branded by Pringles Xtreme. J. Cole and We The Kings will perform.