A CBS photo from the 10th anniversary taping of "We Need To Talk." A CBS photo from the 10th anniversary taping of “We Need To Talk.” (Michele Crowe/CBS.)
CBSOriginalsBy Andrew Bucholtz on

Ten years ago, CBS Sports made a bold move with the launch of We Need To Talk. That show, with all-female hosts and led by a behind-the-scenes team of women, premiered on CBS Sports Network on Sept. 30, 2014. They’re celebrating that anniversary with two special shows this month featuring both present and past hosts and looking at the show’s history and evolution.

The first of these special shows will be Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET on CBS and will be available both live and on-demand on Paramount+. It will feature in-studio guest appearances by tennis legend Billie Jean King and Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang.

The second show will be Monday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. ET on CBSSN. It will look back at the past decade in sports and celebrate some of the best moments in the show’s history. Current and former hosts Katrina Adams, Swin Cash, Tina Cervasio, Jenny Dell, Aditi Kinkhabwala, Andrea Kremer, Sarah Kustok, Allie LaForce, Lisa Leslie, Renee Montgomery, AJ Ross, Summer Sanders, Amy Trask, Tracy Wolfson and Lesley Visser will be featured across these episodes.

Around that, it’s worth a look atĀ We Need To Talk. The show received strong reviews, including from Sarah Sprague in an AA piece, around its start, and it’s continued to grow since then.

We Need To Talk producer Amy Salmanson spoke to AA about the show’s evolution last year. Unfortunately, that file got lost and the piece didn’t run as planned then, but we recently rediscovered it. Salmanson’s comments remain valuable, so here they are. To start with, she said the show’s growth has come in parallel over the past decade with the growth of women’s sports and the growth of women analyzing men’s sports.

“I’ve been involved since day one with the show, from 2014 until now, and I think it’s mirroring what’s happening in society a little bit,” Salmanson said. “I think we really found our footing over the first couple of years and our identity.

“And I think we’ve been able to have an impact more and been able to address a lot of things that are happening, whether it’s in men’s sports, women’s sports, to really shine a spotlight on it. And a lot of that comes across in the influence and the accolades of our hosts. They drive the show, and they’re so well-known.”

A notable part ofĀ We Need To TalkĀ has always been that its panelists discuss both men’s and women’s sports. Salmanson said that was a critical part of the design, having these women both discuss women’s sports when relevant but also weighing in on men’s sports.

“It was always about the biggest sports stories. A lot of us have known each other for a long time, behind the scenes and in front of the camera, and we were always talking sports. It’s always what’s the biggest story in sports.”

Salmanson said the growth of women’s sports has made women’s sports a more regular and natural discussion there.

“I think that’s another evolution to it. When it started, the biggest story was always men’s sports. And we know men’s sports: Andrea Kremer, I would put her against any analyst on any NFL show, or Tracy Wolfson to break down football, they do it, they know it.

“But women’s sports are more so considered a story now, upfront, and not just ‘We’re shining a spotlight on certain stories.’ It’s interesting to see across the media landscape how that’s changing, and how ratings are up.”

Salmanson said she thinksĀ We Need To Talk stands out for its representation in front of and behind the camera.

“I think that it’s important to show that there’s a seat at the table for everyone regardless of which sport it is, that there’s a seat at the table in production for whoever wants to talk about it. There’s not a lot of producers, there’s not a lot of directors that are women, but you can do it. And there is an opportunity; people say, ‘If you can see her, you can be her,’ and I think that’s a really important message.”

“People like Sarah Kustok, who calls men’s NBA games, the first to do it regularly [Kustok was the first female full-time analyst on local NBA broadcasts with YES in 2017], she calls men’s college games, I think putting that out there for people to see is really important. And that there’s room for all of us also is something that’s important to me, that we have a seat at the table like anyone else and deserve a seat just like anybody else talking about sports.”


That behind-the-camera group features Emilie Deutsch [vice president, original programming and features], Suzanne Smith [coordinating producer and director], and Salmanson and Julie Keryc as producers. It’s been the same four since the show’s start. Salmanson said that this came not just out of a desire to feature women but also out of those individuals’ skills and ability to work together.

“It kind of happened naturally in the beginning. I was part of the group that pitched the show, and then we brought in Julie Keryc as a producer as well, and Suzanne [Smith] as coordinating producer and director, and then Emilie. I think it’s worked out well just because we all work well together; I don’t know that it’s anything to do with our gender; I think we’re just all very good at our jobs.”

She said a vital element here is that the four of them have different backgrounds, bring different elements and are willing to let each other have the spotlight when needed.

“I think it works well because we all have different skillsets. We all bring something different to the table. I produce college football 18 weeks a year, and do sidelines from the NFL, and the late-night college basketball show.

“So I bring something different than Suzanne brings, who’s mainly games-focused. And Emilie has this incredible wealth of knowledge and just a totally different background of features and original programming, and she’s spent her entire career focusing on diversity programming and shining a light on overlooked stories. So we all bring different skill sets, and it’s really complementary.

“And the thing is, we can all kind of take a step back and watch someone else shine; I think if there’s something that Julie would be really good at, she should do that show, or this is something I’m going to let Emilie take the lead on because it really is where she excels.

“And I think that balance of skills, and recognizing that we’re all good at different things and where we can contribute and no one having any ego has let the four of us do that. It’s been the same four for 10 years, and nobody really has an ego about it.”

We Need To TalkĀ has done many on-location shows for CBS at major events, starting with one on CBS Sports Network from the 2015 NCAA men’s basketball Final Four and continuing with higher-profile slots, including ones on the main CBS network at the last two men’s Final Fours. Salmanson said the team at CBS Sports has believed in the show, and they’re grateful for that support.

“My bosses see our show as part of the family, part of the plan. We’re in the mix,” she said. “That’s an investment by them. It’s time, money. They have to allocate the crews. So it shows how important the show is to the network and how many people believe in us. And I think it’s a huge privilege and opportunity.”

She said the main network slots are massive enough for the show to bring in people who may not be aware of it.

“It’s such a huge opportunity with such a huge platform. And I feel a lot of pressure with that, but I also feel very proud that the opportunity arose,” Salmanson said.Ā “It gives us the reach for people who may not see our show on the regular, who may not catch it and are just flipping channels.”

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On a personal note, Salmanson said theĀ We Need To Talk launch back in 2014 was an incredible moment for her given the stature of the hosts she was working with.

“I was 27 when the show started. I was sitting in the chair looking at my idols, people who I grew up wanting to be as athletes, watching on TV, as athletes, reporters, whatever it was. Now I’m producing a show with them. It was kind of like an ‘Aha!’ moment, ‘Pinch me,’ a little bit.”

And she said it’s been amazing to see the growth in women’s sports over the show’s run and the way that’s helped boost We Need To Talk.

“It feels awesome. It feels like people are starting to pay attention. And it’s something that we’ve been hammering home as sports fans: the game of women’s basketball at the college and WNBA levels is a very competitive game.

“The fact that these women are getting more money in NIL deals, they have bigger social media followings, you look at how Angel Reese chose to go to LSU because she had already signed this contract with Roc Nation because she’s interested in being a performer, these are all things that make me proud that I get to cover it and shine a light on it. And it’s like, ‘Finally, people are watching.’ I kind of want to say, ‘I told you so,’ but it also just makes me feel proud that people are getting their moment and getting their light.”

Salmanson said while both the attention paid to women’s sports and the opportunities for women in sports media in front of and behind the camera have increased over the show’s run, she thinks there’s room for things to get even better down the road.

“I hope it continues to grow. You always want the next generation to have it a little better. And my sister’s in the business, and I think she has it a little easier than I had it, and Dana [Jacobson] and Lesley [Visser] can tell me ‘We went through stuff you didn’t have to go through.’ And that’s what you always want; you want it to be better for the next generation.”

[Paramount Press Express]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.

View all posts by Andrew Bucholtz