He's History

He’s a young, Harvard-educated TV producer whose team has brought the History Channel some of its most popular shows, like Pawn Stars, Top Shot and Life After People. And he happens to be a Fil-Am. Paul Cabana is a guy who knows what people like to watch: starting from his early days, carting around a videocam to capture the itinerant Anthony Bourdain in his many travels for No Reservations, he’s become one of the reasons that History, as he puts it, is “the No. 1 factual network” in America. And soon, he hopes, the Philippines.

Recently in town to trumpet History Channel’s coming new season, you learn from Cabana that Filipinos are also making a name for themselves as marksmen — they’ve had a “consistent showing” on History’s Top Shot, a reality series that pits sharpshooters against each other for a grand prize of $100,000. Cabana was surprised that Fil-Ams did so well on the series. “They’ve got real skill!” he praises.

Here’s what he had to say about working with Anthony Bourdain, missing TV for Lent, and other historical matters.

PHILIPPINE STAR: You’re here for the holidays, as well as promoting History Channel?

PAUL CABANA: I’m here to spend time with my family this Christmas (my grandmother’s from San Lorenzo), and it just so happens that History’s developing a lot in the Philippines region, so we’re here for both.

How long have you been with the network?

Four years. Before that I was a producer making shows for different networks, like Travel and Discovery. I was a director for Anthony Bourdain, and that was an amazing dream job. I was holding the camera, telling him where to stand and traveling around the world.

How is he to work with, since you were the one holding the camera?

He is incredible. Sometimes he’s in a bad mood, just like any of us, because he works really hard and puts in a lot of time. But he speaks like he writes, and he has the most distinct point of view of anyone I’ve ever worked with as a producer.

You were not raised here?

I grew up in the States, went to school at Harvard. I studied economics, but I also studied media. My plan was to combine them in advertising, but I realized that television producing is what I wanted to do.

So how has your Filipino background informed your choices as a producer, if at all?

That question has come up quite a bit. (Laughs) It’s informed me in a couple ways. One is work ethic. Because my parents are immigrants, they really emphasize working hard; they’re from the provinces. So that’s always been instilled in me. And the second thing is I’m very close with my family, I think that’s a defining characteristic in the Philippines, and so the programs I tend to produce are ones that the whole family can watch.

But there’s one way that the Filipino background kind of backfired. You know how, for Lent, you have to give up something? When we were growing up, my mother made me give up television for Advent and Lent, so I think it backfired, it made me want to pursue it more.

What do you look for in material that you think the History Channel should produce?

The important thing is to understand how big the History Channel has gotten in the US. It’s the number one factual network, in the top five cable networks. And the reason it’s become so successful is because we aren’t afraid to be entertaining first, and then weaving in the history. All of our programs are fun to watch, but they also incorporate a lot of information. So the one thing I look for is that we have to be entertaining.

How about Life After People, which depicts how nature would take over again if humans were gone (with lots of cool CGI)?

We did a special called Life After People and it did well, so we turned it into a series. It’s a visually captivating idea. That was an amazing thing to work out. I did the series, my job was to turn the special into a 20-part series…

And not bum people out at the same time?

Right. It’s just an interesting hook. It’s an interesting way to get into information. We do a show called Modern Marvels, which is about great information in the world around us, and so I looked at Life After People as a post-apocalyptic Modern Marvels. One way to see how things work is to remove people from the equation.

Do you think Filipinos might have a unique insight into American history, given their shared stories?

Absolutely, 100 percent. The media cultures in the Philippines and US are very connected, I know that firsthand. Because of the history and the shared language, there’s such a strong tie. So when I see that, in the last few years, the History brand has become so big, I am so confident that the same thing will happen here.

What makes History different from other fact-based channels?

Our shows are way more fun. A show like Pawn Stars is the No. 1 show on cable in the US. And when I’m here, I already hear people talking about it.

Are we living in a “golden age” of factual/reality television?

I don’t know if it’s a golden age, but it’s certainly growing. And one of the reasons it works is it’s just fun to watch. Like, do you watch Modern Family? It’s a sitcom about a funny family. When you look at Pawn Stars, about a grandfather, father and son running a business, it’s like a real-life sitcom; so you come because it’s funny, but you stay because you’re learning all this great information from the artifacts.

So you’re sneaking in all this information?

Exactly. Well, not “sneaking in,” it’s more like we’re not afraid to put entertainment first and then information woven in. So what we have are loyal viewers. And we have some really big premieres in January: Ice Road Truckers, Top Shots 3 and Pawn Stars. Those are three blockbuster shows in the US, and we’re looking forward to bringing them here.

How do things come to your desk? Videos? Proposals?

It’s a very good question. History is unusual because it’s half ideas that are pitched to us, and half ideas that we come up with on our own.

Which do you find work out the best?

Ha! They’re both rewarding in their own way. But it’s the ones you come up with that are most special to you.

Any show you outright rejected?

None that I would tell you about right now!

And the one you’re proudest of?

Our team is really proud of Pawn Stars. It’s become such a cultural phenomenon.

Does History Channel have a cultural overlap that most Filipinos here will “get”?

A lot of programs I do are more US-based, but a lot of programs I do translate internationally. For example Top Shot has become a worldwide phenomenon, and it just so happens that the Filipino community is extremely well represented in shooting.

Yes, guns are very big here, target practice and all that.

And there’s a lot of skill! So a lot of shows translate internationally. I did one called Secret Access to The Vatican, a show that did very well here, as you might imagine.

Oh, yeah. Tell me one secret about the Pope.

We were able to get behind the scenes with the Pope in his daily life.

My favorite fact is — can you guess the Pope’s favorite beverage?

I’m gonna say Coke Zero.

Nope. Orange Fanta. That’s the kind of stuff you find out.

Cool.

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Top Shot premieres on History Channel in the Philippines on Tuesday, Feb. 28 2012 at 9 p.m.