Shannen Says is an eight-episode American reality television series broadcast on WE TV from April 10 to May 13, 2012. The show focuses on the preparations for the 2011 wedding of actress Shannen Doherty and photographer Kurt Iswarienko, with help from celebrity-wedding planner David Tutera. Doherty and Iswarienko developed the show as a way to document the stress on a couple while planning their wedding.
Filmed in Malibu, California, between August 2011 and October 2011, Shannen Says was produced by RelativityReal and Doherty's production company No Apologies Productions. To prepare for filming, Doherty watched reality shows by Tori Spelling and Kim Kardashian. The series was released on the iTunes Store and Amazon Video under the title Shannen Says, Season1, but it was not made available on DVD or Blu-ray.
Shannen Says had low viewership and ranked below most other programs when it premiered, but had some popularity among women between the ages of 25 and 54. Doherty said it was intended as a one-off, with no plans for a second season. Shannen Says and Doherty received mixed reviews.
Production
Concept and development
Shannen Says documents the events leading up to Shannen Doherty's wedding to Kurt Iswarienko. It was Doherty's third wedding; she previously married actor Ashley Hamilton and poker player Rick Salomon, these marriages ended in 1994 and 2003, respectively. Doherty previously worked on reality television as a host for Scare Tactics and Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty and as a contestant on the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars. Developed under the working title The Shannen Doherty Project, Shannen Says was first announced by WE TV on July 20, 2011. According to the network, the show was intended to portray Doherty from a more intimate perspective.
WE TV senior vice president John Miller identified the series as part of the network's strategy to "present stories that showcase the wild ride of modern-day life from a woman's perspective". Prior to Shannen Says, WETV was already associated with wedding-themed shows, such as Bridezillas and My Fair Wedding with David Tutera. Variety's Jill Goldsmith cited it, alongside Braxton Family Values, Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?, and Mary Mary, to discuss WETV's focus on celebrity-based reality shows.
Shannen Says was initially going to be developed by Doherty's production company, No Apologies Productions, to air on another television network. The series was instead picked up by WETV after Doherty rejected the previous network for making the material too sensational. Miller approved the show's pitch because he believed Doherty was "unfiltered, honest and vulnerable" and said: "I would watch her go to a supermarket... She's insanely compelling." Doherty referred to Shannen Says as her agreement with Iswarienko to "chronicle this time in our lives and let future brides and future grooms know that [it's] not just you [who] goes through the stress". Likening the show to a wedding video, she described it as a documentary rather than a reality show, and saw herself as an actor not a reality personality.
Filming and cast
Doherty and Iswarienko were inspired by the filming and production styles in Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and Deadliest Catch. Doherty questioned if a show could be "brutally honest, that completely raw, but with the quality of those two shows where you do use different cameras and you do want it to look spectacular". They purchased an expensive new camera to film the series since they wanted it to be "a cut above the rest as far as our crew and how it looks". Doherty intended for Shannen Says to provide a more authentic look into her life, in contrast to her public persona and acting roles. This idea was carried over into the show's opening ("Everyone thinks they know you"), which she wrote. She viewed the filming techniques as an important part of this goal, saying: "It had to be honest, it had to be truthful, and it had to look fantastic."