About Us
FIRST WATCH
Based in New York City, First Watch Productions is a full service motion picture studio dedicated to creating premiere storytelling for all media platforms.
FWP discovers and secures access to extraordinary worlds that most people never experience. From haunting true crime scenes to terrifying battlegrounds, FWP’s immersive storytelling shocks, inspires, and entertains viewers around the world.
Following a “Creative First” mantra, FWP uses a trusted core team of bold filmmakers representing the best voices in non-fiction television today to push the boundaries of storytelling for maximum entertainment value.
The Team
MIKE SHERIDAN
An award-winning television documentary producer and director, Mike began his career as one of the first modern-day “video journalists," shooting and producing many of the cinéma vérité style programs that paved the way for today’s real-life series. Mike's work as showrunner and director has been nominated for Emmys multiple times and he received the James Beard Award for Best National TV Food Show for his documentary Bobby Flay: Chef Mentor, which he directed, produced and shot.
JOE VENAFRO
Equal parts director, producer, and shooter, Joe specializes in cinéma vérité style shows. He spent seven years on A&E’s The First 48, during which he shot and produced the pilot, and then twice embedded with the U.S. Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Division in Afghanistan for G4’s Bomb Patrol Afghanistan, nominated for an IDA. Since then, he has worked multiple networks including Discovery, National Geographic, TLC, BET, Lifetime, TruTV, OWN, Animal Planet, Biography, MTV, IFC, Warner Brothers, Showtime, History and Travel Channel. A graduate of Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, Joe has written for The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Baltimore Sun.
OUR STORY:
Mike and Joe first crossed paths while working on the first season of the ground breaking true crime cinema verite series, “The First 48” in 2004. They bonded over their passion for crafting dramatic stories and their intense experiences following and filming the unsung heroes of our modern age from homicide investigators to soldiers and heart surgeons.
Since those early days of run-and-gun documentary filmmaking, they have collectively created and produced nearly a thousand hours of television programming. In 2015, they formed First Watch Productions, a small but bold production company, to push the envelope of visually driven premium storytelling.