Alumni Spotlight: Christopher Spry
B.A. 2009- Radio-Television; College of Mass Communications and Media Arts
Christopher Spry is currently the senior vice president (SVP) of production and development for Hudsun Media, a multi-platform production company based in New York City. In that capacity, he sells shows to all networks and platforms and when they go into production he becomes their Executive Producer.
Most recently, Spry launched Facebook’s streaming service called Watch with a show called “Returning the Favor” with Mike Rowe. It’s been their biggest hit with over 350 million views, and at the moment, Spry has about 70 episodes under his belt.
The evolution from SIU graduate to SVP took Spry about a decade, and began with the College of Mass Communications and Media Arts’ Internship and Placement Program. That internship positioned him in Hollywood working with the Discovery Channel and another production company.
“When I entered that program I was prepared and hungry for success. I lived and breathed the entertainment business. Once in the door, I worked hard to make sure everyone knew who I was, I would do anything and everything they asked of me,” Spry said.
Spry said he was prepared for that level of dedication to career mainly because Krissi Geary-Boehm, the coordinator of MCMA’s internship program, made sure he was.
“She got me in the door and made it clear that everyone I met could be a potential job lead. The way I see it she was one of the most valuable parts of my education,” Spry said.
Spry also credits Joey Helleny and HD Motyl with as influencing his work, and adds that Todd Herreman had the best stories about working in the music business.
“The program introduced me to two very important life skills I have come to rely on in the “real world”. First, you will not get special attention in life — if you want to achieve it you have to do it yourself. And second, working with, collaborating, and networking with your peers is paramount, especially in the television business,” Spry said.
Spry said he decided to attend SIU Carbondale for many reasons. The first was the reputation of the communications department. The second was the campus and culture. Spry grew up in St. Charles, Illinois, about 40 minutes west of Chicago and was looking for something different that he was used to.
“When I made my first visit, I was blown away by the beauty and size of the campus … the fact that there was a lake in the middle of the campus and my walk to class would include a stroll through a forest is something I really gravitated towards,” Spry said.
The “college experience” was something Spry felt he needed at that point in his life, and he wanted to attend a school with large and small classes.
“I knew the large class offering would require me to hold myself accountable and the small intimate classes would allow me to learn from my teachers on a deeper level as well as collaborate with my peers,” Spry said.
And while his course of study was challenging, Spry said his time on campus wasn’t all work.
“I will never forget taking trips with my roommates to Giant City — it’s a magical place and so very close to town. I also loved going to 17th street BBQ with my friends and enjoying the nightlife and concerts,” Spry said.
Spry also loved attending different sporting events. He was there for the “golden age” of SIU sports and got to watch the men’s basketball team make a name for themselves at the Sweet 16.
“I was also there to watch our Dawgs play a playoff football game against NFL quarterback Joe Flacco. We were damn good!” Spry said.
After graduating, Spry spent the first years of his career in Los Angeles, where he moved up through the entertainment industry ranks from intern, to personal assistant, to production assistant, until eventually he was producing content for multiple entertainment channels including Bravo, Lifetime, Animal Planet and VH1.
About five years ago, Spry transitioned from freelance producing to television development.
“I was offered a job in NYC and I couldn’t say no. It was definitely a new challenge, I went from a position of telling a story over the course of a season to finding talent, formats, IP etc., and packaging that into a stories that networks want to buy. It’s quite different but there is a lot of crossover,” Spry said.
Spry said that what he does on a daily basis depends on what Hudsun has going on.
“I might be looking for new talent to partner with, interesting intellectual property, or celebrities to collaborate with, or I might be pitching to networks the shows we’ve been developing. And then, once we sell a show and go into production, I work with the staff to make sure our vision for the show and the networks vision is executed,” Spry said.
Spry says the most stressful part of his job is making sure Hudsun has a robust development pipeline, which he says is the lifeblood of every production company.
“You might have 30 projects you’re developing, but maybe only one or two will move on to the next step with a network. So there is a continuous need for material at a pace that can be rather daunting” Spry said.
But when a show sells he sees it air, some of that stress is forgotten. “Knowing that an idea you had has affected pop culture in some capacity is absolutely thrilling,” Spry said.
Spry says living in New York as a single guy with a career on his mind, has been a terrific experience.
“I love living in NYC, every day feels so different and as if anything is possible. New York forces you to be a part of it — in nearly every other city you drive to work and your only interaction with people will come from those at home or at work. Here, you’re always interacting with people, whether it’s on the walk to the subway, the coffee shop or the bodega you stop in before work, you’re always an active participant ,” Spry said.
Finally, Spry said that he’d like to add that the phrase “Once a Saluki, Always a Saluki” is spot on.
“We are everywhere, and when I moved to L.A. I was shocked by how many alumni I would run into. Saluki alums are one of the most generous and helpful groups of people I know, I’m still friends with alums I met after I moved to LA.,” Spry said.
“I believe strongly that without the opportunities SIU afforded me I would not be where I am today,” he said.
Alumni Spotlight celebrates our Saluki Alumni and their memories of their time at SIU Carbondale. We focus on a different Alumni each week, and publish the feature on Wednesday afternoons on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
If you’d like to be the focus of this weekly feature, or nominate someone to be featured, please email us at: alumni-socialmedia@alumni.siu.edu.
