New PBS/Amazon Series "INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY" Filming in Frederick

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Executive producer Russ Hodge brings decades of television experience to the talk show and podcast hybrid.

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3 Roads Communications' new PBS/Amazon series, 'Intellectual Property,' is premiering this season at the Weinberg Center for the Arts and the Maryland Theatre. The program, part television talk show and part podcast, is executive produced by veteran television producer Russ Hodge, who was interviewed about the show by Shaun Butcher for a feature in the Frederick News-Post.

Hodge's résumé includes producing 'The McLaughlin Group,' working on 'Politically Incorrect,' consulting on the launch of Fox News and executive producing programming for CNBC. The idea for 'Intellectual Property' grew out of a documentary series Hodge developed with Dr. James Martin , a computing pioneer and Oxford University benefactor, built around Martin's book, 'The Meaning of the 21st Century.' That series never got made, but while traveling the world interviewing figures like Craig Venter of the Human Genome Project, Hodge kept hearing the same feedback after nearly every sit-down.

'People would say, 'That was a great interview. Those were great questions. That's the best interview I've ever done,'' he recalled.

Hodge also grew frustrated with a format he saw everywhere on television: shows that diagnosed problems at length but never pointed toward answers. 'We were not just going to say here's what the problems are,' Hodge said of the original documentary concept. 'We're going to offer solutions ... you as a viewer are left completely powerless and completely frustrated.'

That frustration, paired with his gift for interviewing, became the blueprint for 'Intellectual Property' — 'a series with really good thought leaders who can offer solutions,' as he put it. 'Things have only gotten worse,' he added, which is part of why he finally decided to make it happen now.

Hodge is blunt about what he thinks is broken in cable news and why. Panel shows with talking heads shouting past each other, he explained, are simply cheap to produce. 'You get three people or four people on with their talking points. You pay them minimally, if at all, and you let them go at it,' he said. 'You're basically paying for programming by the pound.'

He contrasted that with the format he learned from Jack Paar, a pioneering host of 'The Tonight Show,' who, according to Hodge's parents, 'always made the guest look good.' That's the spirit Hodge wants for 'Intellectual Property': unfiltered, low on production gloss and centered entirely on the conversation. 'I want the conversation to be the star,' he said.

The staging reflects that philosophy. There are no elaborate sets — just two chairs, a coffee table and a rug on an industrial-feeling stage. 'We're not looking to jazz it up,' Hodge said.

One of the show's defining features is that the studio audience doesn't just watch — it questions. Roughly 30 minutes into each episode, Hodge plans to turn the conversation over to the crowd. 'In my many years of producing TV shows, I always found that when we had an audience asking questions, they asked better questions than anybody else generally,' he said.

It's part of what Hodge calls genuine reality television, as opposed to the manufactured tension of competition shows. He recalled a friend who appeared on a 'Survivor' spinoff in Alaska, where producers implied contestants might not get enough calories to survive while craft services sat 100 feet away. 'Nobody was going to die,' he said with a laugh. 'This is actually reality TV. This is people's thoughts and emotions and feelings that are out there.'

The first announced guest is journalist Chuck Todd, booked deliberately ahead of the midterm elections. Hodge has known Todd for roughly 30 years, dating back to Todd's days at 'The Hotline' newsletter. 'There's nobody who's going to know this stuff better than he is,' Hodge said of the timing.

Other early guests include Morris Pearl, a former managing director at BlackRock and a member of the Patriotic Millionaires, who argues that wealthy people should pay more in taxes — a stance Hodge expects will spark disagreement. But that's by design. 'We're approaching this with a deep and profound respect for the audience and their willingness to be engaged, even if they may not agree with what the guest is saying,' he said.

Ric Edelman, an author and advocate on college affordability and retirement planning, is also slated to appear, with topics ranging from cryptocurrency education for financial advisers to strategies for funding higher education without derailing retirement.

Hodge is candid that even his own attention span has shortened over the past decade. But he believes there's a bigger appetite for substantive conversation than networks assume. 'I think the public is brighter and more engaged and more interested than they have been given credit for,' he said.

Todd's appearance is slated for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at the Weinberg Center. Pearl will also appear at the Frederick theater Oct. 14. Edelman's event is scheduled for Oct. 1 at the Maryland Theatre in Hagerstown. Each program will be taped to air on Maryland Public Television, with national public television distribution to follow, and will also be released as a podcast.

Hodge has also launched a companion 'Intellectual Property' channel featuring highlights from roughly 1,000 interviews he's conducted over his career, with subjects ranging from Buzz Aldrin to John McCain. New highlights are released a few times a week.

Asked whether 'Intellectual Property' is a one-off or something built to last, Hodge didn't hesitate. 'I think there's a great need for it,' he said, 'and as long as we can make it financially viable on a long-term basis, I certainly do.'

'It's all not so deathly serious all the time,' he said, 'and you get to see the human side of some of these people a little bit more too.'

Chuck Todd, former moderator of Meet the Press, appears September 19th at the Weinberg Center for the Arts.

Ric Edelman appears October 1st at the Maryland Theatre.

Morris Pearl, Chairman of the Patriotic Millionaires organization and former Managing Director of BlackRock, appears October 14th at the Weinberg Center for the Arts.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Photos-INTELLECTUAL-PROPERTY-to-Premiere-at-Frederick-Theatres-20260915)._