That’s when he reminds the others in the room, “I’m from Ohio. My parents still live in Dayton. My sister is in Columbus. I have a brother in Cincinnati.”
None of them question the shows they watch on USA Network.
Whether it’s sex and crime from a New York- or Los Angeles-based series or a show such as the recently USA-purchased Modern Family that has a key gay element, someone usually asks, “Is this a coast show?”
Sharkey says, “I hear that all the time. Do they appeal to the middle of the country?”
Sharkey says when he’s in the middle of the country, he never hears that, and he spent most of his 37-plus years there.
Now he’s in New York, and in a position to influence what viewers watch as the recently named Senior Vice President of program acquisitions and administration at the largest network on basic cable television.
Sharkey also manages program inventory for Sleuth and Universal HD. He’s also head coordinator-buyer for select NBCUniversal cable properties.
As if that isn’t enough, Sharkey recently was selected by Broadcasting & Cable magazine for its 2011 Next Wave of Leaders, a “list of rising industry stars who are already remaking the way television is created, built and delivered.”
He took a circuitous route to his dream job, first working in finance after graduating cum laude from Notre Dame in 1995. That was four years after graduating from Alter, where teacher Linda Dintaman remembers him as a role model.
“He started a tutoring program in one of the elementary schools, which is impressive for someone his age,” said Dintaman, who continues to teach at Alter. “And I looked up his record. He took all the AP courses he could, which isn’t what kids did back then. They do now, but he did then. He wanted to learn.”
That’s why it’s a little surprising to hear Sharkey say how much television he watched with his family in their Kettering home.
“Our family had dinner together, then sat around and watched TV for two hours,” Sharkey said. “That was our family time. We sat in front of the TV. My wife doesn’t understand it. She thought you sat around the house and talked for four straight hours.”
Nora Sharkey, his mom — and for more than 30 years a grade school teacher at Hillel Academy — doesn’t quite remember it that way.
“I guess that’s his memory of it,” said Nora, whose husband, Neil, is a CPA. “I just know he spent an awful lot of time on his school work.”
A finance major in college, Sharkey’s parents often mentioned he should be a film critic, or television show reviewer. When he watched television, his opinion usually was spot on.
“My family grew up with a love of television and film, and still have it,” Sharkey said. “That was something I wanted to get into.”
It wasn’t easy getting there. When he graduated from Notre Dame, there was a situation current job-seekers were finding: a lack of jobs.
“I had a hard time finding a job,” Sharkey said. “I found one in December, working at Provident Bank in Cincinnati.”
It wasn’t a high-paying job, but it kept Sharkey close to home, where he could help coach his brother in basketball. After five years with the bank, he took a job with GE, which involved “100 percent travel” but also moved him closer to his passion for entertainment. GE owned the USA Network and continues as a minority owner.
On his upward movement, Sharkey found himself in a meeting with his current boss, who found his enthusiasm for programming infectious.
“You love this stuff,” she said. “You know all the shows. You should be on my team.”
And here he is, working USA’s three-fold programming philosophy of original content, acquired series from broadcast television and purchased films.
While the network has chosen some film duds, most of its prime-time stuff is high quality, including “NCIS,” “House,” “Law and Order: SVU” and such movies as “The Bourne Ultimatum” and an extensive James Bond library.
Sharkey recently helped USA acquire the rights to “Modern Family” for something in the vicinity of $1.5 million an episode. It will air on cable in the fall of 2013.
“The question is, ‘Will the new show rate higher than what we have,’ ” Sharkey said. “That’s the math. And we don’t pick these shows in a vacuum. Everyone has a say.”
Even those people sitting on a couch in Ohio.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2157 or mkatz@DaytonDaily News.com.
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