Behind Red Table Talk with Facebook’s Camille Bernier-Green

Camille Bernier-Green is part of the team responsible for the development and production of Facebook Watch Original Series, and has worked on shows such as Red Table Talk, Returning the Favor, 9 Months with Courteney Cox and Ball In The Family. She describes her role as “the liaison between a show’s production team and internal Facebook teams.” Bernier-Green works with production throughout the creative process. For Red Table Talk, this means providing feedback on topics for upcoming episodes, and guests they want featured. Within Facebook, she pulls all the stops to ensure these shows are well-represented by communicating with relevant teams such as marketing, press and social.

“What we aim to do at Facebook Watch is create content that makes you want to not only watch a show, but also share it, talk about it, tell your friends and family about it,” Bernier-Green told Facebook’s James Edward Murray on Facebook’s Our Voices, Our Power, adding: “We want you to have a full experience with our content.”

Watch Bernier-Green’s interview below and read on for takeaways from their conversation.

On Red Table Talk’s recipe for success: Aside from the huge celebrity family at the center of the show, what makes Red Table Talk special is “the fact that they're so open, vulnerable and willing to let you into very difficult parts of their lives. They really go there in ways that we didn't predict,” Bernier-Green explained.

On speaking to common difficulties: Red Table Talk aims to be as inclusive as possible, rooting each episode in very relatable conversations. While the show’s power trio does discuss lighter topics and have fun, “their willingness to speak to very common difficulties that people go through in life has made the show so special,” Bernier-Green said. “The audience sees themselves and their journeys reflected.”

On fostering community using Groups: “The Red Table community is much bigger than the show at this point,” Bernier-Green said. The show has developed Groups where people share personal experiences and look for support. Today, Red Table Talk has grown into multiple sub-groups dedicated to topics often addressed in the show such as parenting, relationships and mental health. Bernier-Green credits Groups for being “wonderful in terms of helping an actual community come to life and helping people connect in a much deeper way.”

On connecting with your audience in real time using Live: In tandem with episode releases in Season 1, a star of the show would use Live to answer any questions the audience may have. “It's an interesting opportunity and way to create this great feedback loop between the audience and our hosts. I think it makes it a more approachable situation.” Bernier-Green advised. “They're reading your questions, they're reading your thoughts on these episodes, they're engaging with you because they want to.”

On having fun with audience feedback: “Try different things. Don't be afraid to take risks. Your audience will tell you if it works or if it doesn't.” Bernier-Green advised while recounting a feedback instance for the show, Ball In The Family. “Viewers were actually asking for longer episodes, and we got enough comments asking for that that we ended up extending those episodes.” To close the feedback loop, one of the stars of the show responded on video: “If you want more time on the clock to watch us—guess what? We bringin’ it. Starting next week, we gon’ make our episodes longer.”

Bernier-Green advises video creators to take advantage of the unique opportunity Facebook presents: “You're seeing viewers respond to you in a way that, again, you can't get on another platform. Be flexible and have fun with that.”