“My job is to hang out with my best buds and watch TV. I feel like I’ve won the lottery!” says Scott Nevins, one of the stars of Bravo TV’s surprise hit The People’s Couch.
The People’s Couch films Nevins and his co-stars, Emerson Collins and Blake McIver -- as well as ordinary people in their homes -- as they watch and comment on TV shows. It’s part of a new breed of interactive reality show that encourages viewer participation via Twitter and other social media platforms.
“I love it!” Nevins says. “Twitter and other social media are very powerful tools nowadays if used correctly -- and with a show like ours, we get an instant read on what people like, what they don’t like, and what they want to see. I’ve seen a bunch of people tweet to our show (@ThePeoplesCouch) or to Bravo directly (@BravoTV), and the ‘powers-that-be’ really do listen! Things happen because the audience tunes in and live-tweets.”
Nevins, Collins and McIver are best friends, and they decided to join the show as “a package” when initially approached by the network.
“I always say that I have lots of acquaintances but very few close friends,” Nevins says. “These two are definitely part of my inner circle, and I thank my lucky stars every day that I have friends like them in my life. In fact, when I first got the call about The People’s Couch, they asked me if I had any friends or family members that I watch TV with and I said ‘Yes, actually they are on their way over now to watch TV with me!’”
The show debuted in October 2013 with a limited run, and its first full season started in March 2014. It has become a cult favorite for Bravo, complete with a band of committed followers who call themselves Couch Potatoes.
“From the first airing of the pilot episode, we were overcome with an avalanche of love and support for the show and for us,” Nevins says. “People tuned in and connected immediately. We’re one dysfunctional family who love to laugh, cry and scream at their TVs together!”
He said, “The fans of The People’s Couch are so loud and proud and very funny!”
Nevins’ story begins in Flushing, Queens. His father, a former professional baseball player, loved musicals and passed this fondness along to his son.
“I was a heavy kid who was obsessed with The Wizard of Oz and Broadway musicals,” Nevins says.
“He started showing them to me when I was very young. I loved them! At around 4 years old, I had already seen my first Broadway show -- 42nd Street -- and was doing shows on the staircase for my family.”
He recalled particularly liking to perform numbers from The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz and Mary Poppins, and admits to being drawn to the larger, more dramatic roles (most often sung by females).
“My dad and brother would watch Oliver! and sing, ‘You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two’ [which Fagin sings>, while I’d be 
