FORMER PRODIGY MEDIA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Vice - President, Unscripted Development
Amy began her career in entertainment working up through the production ranks at the multiple Emmy Award-winning production company Natural 9 Entertainment, under company president Jeff Androsky. She later went on to work with producer Eric Schotz, producing for such notable true crime series as Discovery ID's "Murder Book" and "Deadly Wives" among others. She later returned to work for Androsky under the Tri-Crown Production banner as a season development executive, where she worked closely with the company's head of development and talent, Phil Viardo. Together they worked on such series as A+E's "Good Spirits," the CW's "Dream Quest" and Univision's hit "La Gran Sorpresa" to name a few, laying foundation for a great working relationship moving forward.
In 2018, Amy left the company to independently produce for shows such as Discovery's "The Face of Evil" and TLC's hit "Dr. Pimple Popper" before rejoining forces with Viardo at Former Prodigy Media. Since then, Amy was instrumental in putting together a strong development slate of unscripted projects, and was key in putting together FPM's first feature documentary film, "Truelove: The Film", on which Amy serves as Executive Producer.
Once and forever a Brady, Christopher Knight met life as a child actor, starring as "Peter Brady" in the immortal American classic TV show "The Brady Bunch". A reluctant icon, Christopher has focused his adult years on interests beyond the entertainment industry, starting with the world of technology and expanding his interests beyond that as an entrepreneur. Most recently, his business endeavors evolved into Chris' latest off-screen success, when his line of online home furnishings called Christopher Knight Home skyrocketed to an astounding success, quickly landing in homes of millions and sometimes even becoming the subject of international media headlines involving Royalty…
Yet, due to the ever-present legacy of all things Brady, Christopher's successful endeavors beyond showbiz still exist in peaceful subordination to his portrayal of Peter. In the early 2000's, Christopher has returned to his entertainment roots, once again re-establishing himself as an actor, host, spokesperson and erstwhile entertainment figure, having starred or otherwise participated in the plethora of periodic Brady Films, television movies, series, Brady gatherings and retrospectives. Grateful at this second opportunity at an acting career, Chris relishes the chance at experiencing celebrity, now as a seasoned, "well-baked" adult. Over the last two decades, Chris' countless TV appearances included such hit shows as FOX's "That 70's Show", WB's "Blue Collar TV" and ABC's "Less Than Perfect" among a slew of others. Chris also went on to Host "Trivial Pursuit - America Plays," a nationally syndicated game show.
But it was in 2003, when Knight took part in an unforgettable Fourth Season of VH1's hit reality show, "Surreal Life," that his reinstated star status got boosted to a whole new level and introduced Chris to a whole new generation of fans. He went on to star in his own spin-off, "My Fair Brady" that ran on VH1 for 3 successful Seasons. Most recently, Knight and his Brady siblings took part in a unique TV experiment with HGTV's "A Very Brady Renovation," where they recreated the iconic house from "The Brady Bunch" in real life, inside the home only used for the exterior shots of the sitcom. This "experiment" broke numerous cable TV records and still holds the title of one of the most watched cable television programs of all time.
Surprisingly, with all of his success in the entertainment industry, Chris never found himself on the other side of the camera. When in 2019 an opportunity came along to launch a new production company venture with his long-time friend and colleague Phil Viardo, he was excited for this new chapter in showbiz in a whole new role as a producer and creator. Since launching Former Prodigy, the company has developed a great deal of original content, culminating with the upcoming release of "Truelove: The Film," a project very dear to Chris' heart. In 2021, the production company also made its foray into the feature genre, producing several live action and animation feature films and series with award-winning talent, both in front and behind the camera.
Two-time Emmy Award-nominated producer, Phil Viardo's extensive career in the entertainment industry goes back decades. He got an early rise working for big name firms in corporate entertainment representation, working with clients like Playboy Entertainment Group, Microsoft New Media Technologies and UbiSoft, before branching out on his own with The Viardo Agency in 2001, a company which quickly gained reputation as a respected entertainment firm in the fast- paced world of Hollywood dealmakers, representing companies such as Madonna's Maverick Films, RAW Entertainment, Trigger Street Productions and lifestyle brands like Von Dutch, Antik Denim, graphics giant NVIDIA, among numerous others production, corporate, lifestyle and talent clients. Viardo expanded his operations to include production and intellectual property management with the launch of Viardo Artists in 2009. Several years later, he partnered up with a veteran Emmy award-winning production company, Natural 9 Entertainment under their Tri- Crown Production Group umbrella, making a major focus pivot to production and content creation. Over the next 6 years, Viardo was instrumental in growing the company's slate with numerous non-scripted and scripted projects, that include several award-winning and hit television series for ABC, The CW, WEtv, A+E, FYI, National Geographic, GSN and Univision among others.
To date, Phil has been responsible for creating development slate of over 100 documentary, non- fiction and scripted projects. He serves as the executive producer on a highly anticipated feature animated film "The Inventor", from the Oscar-nominated writer/director, Jim Capobianco ("Ratatouilles", "Toy Story", "Mary Poppins"), starring Stephen Frye, Daisy Ridley and Marion Cotillard. He is also the EP for the upcoming major feature film "Hellfire Club," written by Jeffrey Hatcher ("The Duchess", "Casanova") produced by Brian Oliver ("Black Swan", "American Made"). In 2019, Viardo released a documentary feature film through Gravitas Ventures called "Public Enemy Number One," co-produced with legendary artist and actor Ice T, that took top honors at numerous festivals including the Seattle Film Festival and is currently available on all major streaming platforms. Years of creativity have also brought Viardo behind the camera, where he has now directed projects for Hulu, Oxygen, Univision, as well as several independent film and television titles.